Oh, Hell, and No
by maravelous
Summary: AU; Where three plus three equals one. — SasuHinaNaru, NejiTen & ShikaTema ; Yaoi
1. An Introduction

_Flowers bloom, spring colors light our way._

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part One_

**TenTen**;

I was a young girl with hopes and dreams. I was a sweet child with friends and family. I was a kind-hearted young lady with manners and respect. And I'd sure understood the key word in all three of those past descriptions; _was_.

I wasn't anymore.

I'd decided that since I moved away to Konoha. Decided that it was better I just start off making a career that I can do, something simple, like a secretary, or a librarian. Who needs dreams when you've had to face such a boring existence for so long? Not me.

'_I hate Konoha_.' I thought for the hundredth time that week as I sat in my last class of the day; History with Gai-sensei. As usual, the last four minutes of this class were wasted by this burly man's hoarse rambling about who was a great man and who was a great woman in our past…and, of course, who wasn't, in the case of un-patriotic citizens if mentioned. I sat in my usual seat, isolated from the others in the room at a desk in the far left, shadowed by the short, blinded windows. '_I hate this place so much…_'

I was new to Konoha, by two weeks, and already the place had cast it's incredibly awful, scarring impression into me. Not a good start. I had moved to Konoha from a farm in Kiri, the land of rice. I wasn't exactly used to Konoha's cities, how tightly the buildings were packed together and how tiny the houses and yards were. I wasn't used to only having to walk right down the street to get to school every day. I wasn't used to the park, three houses down from my house, that sat, proud and grassy, between my street, and a couple corner stores, a pizza place, and an ice cream shop.

And I sure wasn't used to the flashy people.

However, that wasn't such a bad thing. For example, my two new friends, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. The two girls lived right next to me, actually. To my right was Sakura, then to Sakura's right was Ino…then the silly, skinny little excuse for a park next to her house.

The moment I moved into my new house in Konoha, which my hair-raising, frenzied parents insisted I do to get a 'proper education' as they sat at home themselves enjoying an early retirement, the two waltzed right on inside my new abode without hesitation, let alone knocking or ringing the doorbell, and arranged my furniture as if they were professionals.

I liked them instantly.

It took guts to come into someone's house like that, let alone stuff their furniture and clothes around in places they thought fit. I liked people like this, people who didn't care for manners but were still polite in their own, fun, entertaining way, people that never minded for anything other than personality. My kind of people…

They were already best friends since elementary school, since they had been born in those houses and lived next to each other their entire lives. They were so close, so like sisters, that they even fought, viciously too, and weren't afraid to make fun of each other. I found that highly entertaining, and sometimes I would bet with myself over who would win in the occasional argument or catfight. And they were both my age and grade (fifteen, sophomores), which was a plus. However, that plus was soon ridden out by a minus, that minus being that we were in different classes. See, in Forest High School, the name of my meticulous new academy, we had the same teacher all day. While I had my over-active Gai-sensei, they had their lazy and slightly perverted Kakashi-sensei that they were always complaining about.

But it was fine with me, because we got to meet at the park every day after school. Why not just in the hallways? Try sprinting through the school through crowds of other kids that are just as persistent to get home or to their after-school activities? That's not something we'd really look forward to after a long day of work. So the park was a nice alternative.

We'd just cross out of the school and wait at the park for each other, then when we all got there, we'd walk home together. Usually, or at least from what I'd gathered in the two weeks I'd been here, I would get there first, then Ino, then Sakura, and we'd walk over to Ino's place and do our homework. Ino's father and Sakura's mother (since the other parent of both had separated from them via divorce and hadn't seen them since they were babies) didn't come home till much later in the day, so they barely even saw their parents. It was as if all three of us lived alone, sometimes, but it was fine. We were all responsible enough, and we didn't really mind it.

'_Who needs them_?' was what we would consult with each other. '_Who needs anyone? We're perfectly fine alone_.'

**Temari**;

I could still remember what had happened as I sat on a bench in the girls' locker rooms at Forest High School after school hours.

"_How do you determine the abundances of boron-10 and boron-11 to the nearest 10 percent?" No answer. "Anyone?" Still no answer. A sigh. "Shikamaru, wake up." A yawn and a muffled mutter. "Can you please tell the class how to determine the abundances of boron-10 and boron-11?"_

_Another yawn. "To what percent?"_

"_Nearest 10."_

_A sigh. "The atomic weight of boron is 10.81, an average of the isotopic masses of boron-10 and boron-11. So the equation goes 'abundance of boron-10 multiplied by the isotopic mass of boron-10 plus the abundance of boron-11 multiplied by the isotopic mass of boron-11. You can go from there by multiplying by a rough two digit number each boron-10 and boron-11, so you should get a few decimal numbers, then solve the equation for x."_

_A couple under-the-breath murmurs from the class and a long, loud sigh from Asuma-sensei. "…Very…very nice, Shikamaru."_

_As Asuma continued to explain this complicated formula, I leaned over to Shikamaru's desk next to me before he fell asleep and hissed, "How the hell did you know that if you were just sleeping?!"_

"_Because I'm not a preppie."_

Stupid idiot. I couldn't believe I had to study with him for the rest of the year just because I failed one silly test! I refused to be called a 'preppie'! I refused to be stereotyped just because I was a cheerleader! I refused to be categorized just because my hair was always in perfect condition and I wore makeup daily and I did everything correctly and I was slightly ditsy. Because…that's not what I really was…

It's not like I was wearing a façade or anything, or role-playing as another character in my own little fantasy world. No, but it was the fact that everyone expected _so much_ out of me.

'_Why?! Why do I have to be so friggin' perfect?_!' I thought as I changed into my sweats for cheerleading practice. I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. That familiar, diamond-shaped face looking back at me, sandy blond hair, pulled into four bunches at the back of my head, a pair of long-lashed, teal eyes… '_Perfect. Why so perfect_?'

This was the one thing I had been going over in my head for a while now. The cheerleading captain, a star on the track team…what more could you expect from me other than to do everything without failure? Or act like a prissy little girl, totally cutesy and sweet. Definitely not a girl with a temper or attitude…

Well, guess what. That's who I was…

I just rarely showed it…

'_I don't want to_.'

"Temari!" I snapped my head up and grinned at some girls from the cheerleading club calling my name. "You ready yet?"

"Mhm! Coming!" I ran over to them, smiling as widely as I could manage.

'_So maybe…I do want to be stereotyped…after all…_'

**Hinata**;

Do not search for control or anger or frustration. Practice humility. Openly and honestly accept yourself and your limits. Those were the goals that I engaged myself in.

Those goals had more than anything to do with the way I was raised. I had to follow my father's orders. He was the head of the house. The leader. If I didn't listen to him, I was punished, if I didn't have to punish myself.

And they had less to do with the act than they had to do with the consequence, for it was a morality that had to do with the _community_, people around me. Everyone. I was always on display. At every moment, every second. People were watching me. I could slip and fall in front of them. I could become what everyone thought I was…

'_A failure_.'

And that's exactly what I was concerned about as I sat on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the library, which was located a block behind the school for easy access, with my summer project laid out on my lap, along with all of my school books and my school bag. The project was just on the formation of cells, but there was a marked score of how many pages of information and research you had to put together, and that was fifty.

Fifty full pages. It was a project that we were supposed to turn in the first day of school, but since everyone except me had been too lazy to finish it, our teacher, Kurenai, was going to change the date. We were going to make it due in three months. And since I had done it, she was making me add even more to it. One hundred pages. I had thirty more to go now, since I had stayed in the media center during lunch to add a bit more to it, twenty pages worth.

I sighed slowly as I sat still, staring at my work, listening to the light drizzling hiss and bubble of the fountain behind me, a trickle of endless water working it's way around a cycle of tubes and wires and hoses. I was upset, really. I wanted to turn it in on time and seem average. But no, I was above average as usual.

It wasn't a bad thing, but I didn't like the attention. The more people notice you, the more humiliation if you mess up. And since I had to remember to let myself be myself, be humiliated, accept my faults, then it was better if less people were watching. So I was alright with being a failure as long as nobody knew I was there in the first place.

"Naruto, Kiba, get back here!"

"Naruto, split up!"

"Okay! Move, move!"

…Obviously, luck wasn't on my side in that frame of mind…

A blonde haired, blue eyed boy came racing past me and accidentally knocked into me, causing me to fall into the ice-cold water of the fountain, along with my entire project, the entire stack of papers, my school bag, all of my books, _everything_, with a splash. I let out a loud cry as the blonde boy skidded to a halt, an expression of horror on his face.

"Oh!"

**TenTen**;

I finally came to a stop after the walk to the park, threading through the trees until I got to one special tree that Ino Sakura and I were pretty much naming our permanent meeting spot, and leaned against it, dumping my backpack onto the ground and sighing loudly, almost obnoxiously. "I hate this place…" I groaned out loud. Just to put emphasis on the five times I'd already said it that day.

What I didn't want was for someone to hear me.

"Why?"

I stiffened and looked up to see a boy about my age, sitting on a park bench across from me, over the wood-chip trail that winded through the park. He sat there with his legs slightly parted and his wrists crossed in his lap casually, his head tilted up to look at me interestedly with violet-white eyes, his hair falling over his shoulders in long, silky brown tresses, pulled into a high pony tail. He wore a beige, high-collared leather jacket that was unbuttoned over a simple tee and jeans, some brown cowboy boots on his feet peeking beneath the hems of his pants.

'_Wow he's hott_…' was the first thing I thought, then my mind snapped into normality and I smiled guiltily at him, trying to keep my manners.

"Sorry, did I say that I hate this place…? …Out loud?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"…Sorry…" I said again under my breath.

He said nothing, just kept looking at me. After a while he broke the awkward silence by pointing out, "I asked you a question." with a stern look in his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Why do you hate this place?"

"Oh!" I laughed at my own stupidity and sighed. "I…I have my reasons."

"Like what?"

"None of your concern."

He stared at me for a little while longer. "You're a stubborn person, right?"

"…I guess…"

"I can tell." he said, as if he was suddenly only talking to himself. "You're different." He switched gears to talking directly to me again. "Where do you live?"

"Eh?!"

"I'm not asking as a stalker, I'm just wondering."

"I didn't say I thought you were a stalker, I was just surprised. You don't ask a person that kind of thing…But I live right down the block from here, I just moved in two weeks ago."

"Oh? That's likely."

"What do you mean likely?"

"Nothing. So you already hate it here after only two weeks? Wow, where do you think you _are_?"

The next word I spoke made his lips curve slowly into a smirk.

"Hell!"

**Temari**;

"Hey Temari."

I glared menacingly at Kankerou's greeting as I exited the girls' dressing rooms to see him and Gaara, my two younger brothers, standing there mindlessly. "What do you think you're doing outside of the locker rooms?"

"Waiting for you of course, my sweet, beautiful sister." Kankerou said simply, grinning widely, sarcasm etched into every fiber of his voice and expression.

That only made me angrier. I ignored both him and Gaara and stormed past them, carrying my school bag and my bag of supplies for cheerleading over each shoulder and stomping as loudly as necessary.

"Temari, stop being immature and wait for us." Gaara ordered, and I hissed in frustration but stopped walking, skidding to a halt in the sand which flew around me at the pressure as Gaara and Kankerou caught up to me too slowly for my taste.

"What?" I asked them, spinning around to face them once I felt they were close enough.

Kankerou smirked. "I know that we're usually at home at this time, but we got some news from Shikamaru."

"If it's about how Asuma stuck us together as study partners you guys can fuck off. I know already, we start this weekend. It's Monday, I still have a week of freedom left! Leave me alone!"

Kankerou, still grinning away, just shook his head. "Oh no, not about that. We already know about that. But here's the thing, you might want to change it to study _date_."

"…What…?"

"He's asking you out." Gaara said in a monotone.

"…_What_…?!"

"He asked us to ask you out for him." Kankerou said. "So?! What do you say?!"

I felt my heart beat increase, my whole body tingle, and opened my mouth to say that one word that would change my life from then on.

"No!"

**Mara**;  
_--**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, traces by Onitsuka Chihiro, or anything related to either. :)_  
oh mah gosh, another story?! LOL, yes, guys, surprise, surprise! another story! OK, so here's the thing, not many people will like this story, because the pairings are extremely diverse (well, they're actually going to be a surprise). Here's the basic gist of it though: **NejiTen, SasuHinaNaru, ShikaTema**. and Neji and Temari will both be slightly OOC. xP  
And it's all going to turn out as a huge surprise in the end! this story's gonna be real dramatic, kind of dark-ish, kinda cliché-ish, blahblahblah. it'll be good in the end. ;) well, I think that's all.  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	2. A Challenge

_Birds take flight, chasing the clouds away._

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Two_

**Temari**;

"It's a 'No', huh?" Kankerou asked, looking a little disappointed. "Why not? He's a smart guy, you're always talking about him!"

"Because I'm complaining about him!" I could feel my face flush up. "I can't believe he asked me out! He's never shown any interest in me whatsoever, in fact he always seems to be _annoyed_ by me, always going on about how woman are just troublesome!"

"Well he's obviously playing a game, I guess." Kankerou said, nodding knowingly, which I found rather annoying since he obviously didn't know much. "Come on, go out with the guy!"

"I said no already! Besides, he's three years younger than me!" It was true. Shikamaru Nara was a freshman, like Gaara (Kankerou was a sophomore, I was a junior). He was only in my class because he was too smart for the other classes. He always got straight A's in everything, because he knew every single answer. Asuma even let it slip that his IQ was over 200! However, he usually failed in citizenship because he was always sleeping in the middle of class. He could probably be in college already by now, but he had no motivation whatsoever, and insisted that almost everything (especially the prospect of woman, which I constantly tried to argue with him over but he just brushed me off) was 'troublesome' or 'such a pain in the ass'.

"But three years don't make a difference when it comes to _love_." Kankerou said, that damn sarcasm still ringing in the air.

"_Yes_ they _do_. I'm _way_ more mature than a freshman." I said as modestly as I could manage.

"Temari, that's just asking for it…" Gaara said quietly, giving me a look, and I gulped a little. Of course; Gaara, the overly-mature one, had always acted way older than me…

I groaned. "Just leave me alone, I don't like the guy, and I really can't believe he likes me. He's probably just joking around or something."

"Does he really seem like the kind of person to do that?" Gaara asked.

I bit my lip and searched my mind frantically. There had to be an excuse, anywhere, any way! "H-He got dared by a friend?"

"What friend…?" Gaara asked, rolling his eyes.

I felt my eyes widen. He was right. Shikamaru was a loner, a complete loser. A nerd, a bookie, a geek, whatever. No one really liked the guy or wanted to hang out with him for that matter because one, they'd be embarrassed to be around him, and two, he was completely boring and didn't really _want_ to hang out with anyone. He didn't have any interests, any hobbies. Nothing.

And that meant that either he had suddenly developed an interest in making fun of girls by asking them out, or…he liked me…

Well, either way, there was one thing I knew for certain.

"I don't like Shikamaru Nara and I never will!"

**Hinata**;

I felt my white jean capris and summer sandals get completely soaked through the instant I fell into the fountain. Some water even sprayed my lacy shirt, and the tips of my long violet hair floated a bit in the water. I was stunned, gasping in cold surprise, and _wet_.

The blonde boy was still staring at me as my papers floated limply in the waves and ripples cast by the endless stream of water. "Did…did I do that…?" he asked after a while, his legs snapping together suddenly and his hands still hanging by his side. His voice was hoarse, scratchy, and childish, but for some reason it reminded me of sunshine.

I coughed a bit and nodded slowly. It was silent as realization dawned over him, and as I went over the fact that maybe this boy wasn't very quick-witted. And then, in a flash, he jumped in next to me, making a gigantic splash, and pulled me up and out of the fountain, while saying over and over again, "I'm so, so, so, so, so, _so_ sorry, I really, really am, I can't believe I just did that-!" as he fixed my hair sloppily and shook me a bit.

I felt my cheeks turn red. "I-It's alright, i-it was an accident-"

"No, I won't hear of it!" he said, interrupting me. "Let me get your things for you!"

When he said that, I remembered that my project which I had worked so hard on was now floating in knee-deep water, and I stiffened. I heard him splashing around frantically for a while, scooping things into his arms and dumping them over the side of the fountain onto the cement in a damp pile, but I made no move to turn around.

Finally he squished the last soggy paper onto the mound and jumped over again. He stood next to me to look at his work and after a while he started rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Shit…" He said as I turned around slowly.

"…Oh no…" I said quietly, walking tentatively towards the soaked heap of my belongings. "My project…I spent four whole months on it…" I kneeled down and lifted a corner of a now pitifully wrecked book.

"What?!" the boy asked, sounding shocked. "Four whole months?!"

"…Y-Yes…a-a-and I borrowed all of these books from the school and the library and they're due next month…F-Father will be furious when he f-finds ou…ou…" I couldn't finish my sentence because my body and emotions betrayed me and I was soon in tears on the ground.

"Ah! D-D-D-Don't cry, please! Ah no, this is all my fault! Don't cry!"

"G-G-Gomen…" I managed to choke through my sobs.

"Wah! No, don't apologize either! Shit!" The boy scrambled around in front of me and suddenly his strong hands were on my shoulders, forcing me to face him squarely. "Hey, listen, I'll make it all up to you, okay?!"

"H-Huh?"

"I swear! When's your project due?!"

"…Th-Three m-months…"

"Okay!" Suddenly he pulled me into a standing position next to him, wrapped one arm around my shoulders and yanked me next to him, and used the other hand to punch the air, his face staring determinedly at the sky with a wide, toothy grin. "I swear that by three months, with the two of us working together, I will have helped you finish your project and buy each one of those books, all better than it was before!"

I blinked up at him in surprise, sniffing a bit, weary from the energy it took to fall in a freezing cold fountain and then cry over the horror of my lost work. "N-Nani…?"

He turned to me with a smile. I saw his blue eyes, sparkling and shining in the sunlight that filtered serenely through the waxy green leaves on the trees in the library's courtyard. They showed me such strength… "What's your name?"

"H-Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga."

He grinned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Some day everyone will know my name. Some day everyone will look up to me. And for now, I'm going to help you out because this was all my fault. And I never go back on my word. Do you trust me?"

I stared at him for a little while, his eyes, his golden hair, his grin, and I smiled.

"Hai."

'_Naruto Uzumaki…_'

**TenTen**;

"So you think this place is hell, hmm?"

I sighed and nodded once for the boy sitting across from me to understand. "Kiri was way better than this place."

"Kiri? That rice land? Really, now, you think so?"

"Yes. I may not have had _tons_ of friends, but I had way more than I have here. Everything was bright and sunny and spaced out. There wasn't so much sidewalk, there was more grass, more trees and animals. There were horses and cows and chickens, and I could take long walks through fields of corn and rice. Can you do any of that here?"

He shrugged a bit. "No, I admit that you can't. But there are probably things that you can do that you can't do in…your little farm land…" He looked me over once, taking in my brown hair, pulled into two buns, my matching set of eyes, and my clothes; a pink tank with light green straps and green jean capris with black flats.

I shifted uncomfortably, and he seemed to notice, for he quickly switched his gaze back to my face. "Sorry, but you're sure you used to live on a farm? You really don't dress, look, or act like it."

I frowned. "Maybe you should stop being so stereotypical."

He laughed. We both were a little surprised, apparently, at that sudden outburst, for he looked me over once more and seemed to be a little more intrigued. "What's your name?"

"…TenTen…" When he simply nodded and didn't return the favor, I deepened my furrowed brows. "And you?"

"Neji Hyuuga." he said shortly. "Fifteen."

"…Same here." We both didn't want to share any more than that. I fidgeted a bit, still on the lookout for Sakura and Ino. '_I wonder where they are…_' I glanced at Neji, who was still watching me, and decided to at least make conversation. "Why are you here?"

"Waiting for some friends of mine. We're meeting here from now on, I'll wait here for an hour while they're at their clubs then they come and we make arrangements." he replied. "What about you?"

"Same here! But I don't have to wait an hour. I'm going to come here every day to wait for Sakura and Ino."

"Really now?" he said, and all of a sudden an expression of mild interest and amusement spread onto his features. "Then it looks like we'll be seeing quite a lot of each other."

"…I guess…" I said, meanwhile thinking, '_Why did that seem so creepy…?!_'

"Then…why don't I take the time to show you around?"

"Huh?"

"I'll take you around Konoha and show you that it's not at all what you think. I love this place. I grew up here, I learned so many things here. And I'd like you to feel the same way."

I stared at him. He wasn't joking, I could see the truth, crystal clear and rock solid in his deep, lavender eyes. "You're serious…?"

"Sure. Are you up for it?" When I said nothing, he sighed, and turned away. "Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so forward. Of course someone timid from a small-town farm wouldn't want to be taught a lesson by a stranger she's only known for a couple minutes. Forget it."

If that was supposed to make me back away, well, it didn't work.

"Um, what?! Who do you think I am?! Some sort of trailer trash that 'can't handle the big city', someone small and stupid?! That is _not_ me! Neji Hyuuga, starting tomorrow, you are going to…well…do your thing and take me around. _Teach me_, by all means! Unlike what you think I am, _I_ can handle it! Okay?!"

He stared at me for a while, not fazed in the slightest, then he smiled. "Right. Starting tomorrow, then."

"Right."

"TenTen! Sorry we're late!"

Neji and I both twisted around as Ino shouted out to me. I saw Ino and Sakura walking together towards me, Ino in a sky-blue summer dress and sandals, and Sakura in a pink tank, jean shorts, and tennis-shoes, both of them with their long hair up in high pony-tails and smiling widely.

I grinned and ran over, but remembered to stop and give Neji a meaningful glare, which he just laughed at before I rolled my eyes and continued to run over to my new friends, who luckily hadn't met my new acquaintance Neji. I was afraid they'd give me a game of 20 Questions, and I really wasn't in the mood.

"Why were you late?" I asked as we went our way towards Ino's house.

"I had to drop by Sakura's locker in the second story to get some books I left there." Ino explained.

"Only because she was stupid and forgot them there!" Sakura added cheerfully, which made Ino stick her tongue out at her. "So TenTen, have a lot of homework? Ino and I have a _ton_."

"No, I only have a little. So that gives me a lot of time…how about I cook dinner for us when I'm done! Ino, I can use your kitchen again, right?"

"Only if you promise not to break anything again."

"That was an accident…"

**Hinata**;

'_Naruto Uzumaki sure is something_…' I thought as I walked slowly down the sidewalk of my short street, letting a small sigh escape my lips. It wasn't that he was awe inspiring, just...overwhelming, I guess. He wouldn't stop talking or moving the whole way to my street, where he dropped me off before handing me a small, dirty, ripped up piece of paper where he had scrawled in sloppy, last minute handwriting his address, where I would meet him every day after school to get started on our 'project.' He was slightly hyperactive…but he meant well, and he was very sweet. I liked him. It was starting to look like a friendship might form between us.

I finally got to my porch after a while and felt a smile come to my face, shifting my soggy backpack, empty since I had thrown away all the useless, wet belongings in it before, on my arm. I felt so exhausted suddenly. It had been a long day, and I couldn't wait to get inside and relax. I glanced behind me as I climbed up the porch steps. I almost laughed out loud in amusement when I saw the recognizable trail of drips from my clothing, hair and bag behind me, coming all the way from the library. But then, when my bare foot - bare since I was carrying my wet shoes in one hand, landed on the last step of my porch - I heard a loud crinkle.

I blinked in surprise and looked down, lifting my foot quickly, to see an envelope. I frowned a bit and leaned down to pick it up, wondering why the mail-man had been so lazy to not actually slip it in the mail-box like he usually did. I wondered who it was for. I usually didn't get mail, and the only one else who did was my older cousin, Neji.

I lived with Neji ever since my father had sent us out of the Hyuuga manor so we could have better access to get to the school. Neji, unlike me, was bold and outgoing, and quite popular. However, unlike most people, he cared for me, and I cared for him, so we began referring to each other as siblings soon enough. I literally never called his name without saying, 'Neji-nii-san.' We both worked our best together to make our own sort of family, even if it was without the parents. We were both used to it, since Neji was an orphan, and I never saw my father. We were both pretty much ignored in the family.

But for once, this letter, this usual, plain white envelope, wasn't for Neji. It said Hinata Hyuuga instead above our address, all written in thin, straight, dark purple pen. I wondered who was writing to me, so instead of going inside, I sat down on the porch step and checked the return address. There, in the top right hand corner, was scribbled, 'Anonymous'. And beneath that, no address. I stared. Now that I noticed, there was also no stamp in the other corner.

I tilted my head to the side, my long hair falling over my shoulder. "Anonymous." I said curiously aloud, testing the feeling of the word in my lips. Without hesitation, I slit open the letter with my nails and pulled out a neatly folded piece of blank white paper and spread it open, reading the same dark purple pen:

_Hinata Hyuuga,_

_You know me. I promise that you know me and you know that I'm someone you can trust. But at the same time, Hinata…you don't. Because I've never told you how much I am in love with you._

_I'm not the type of person to do this; send you a love letter. I used to scoff at things like this. I thought that they were stupid. But I really do love you more than I can say, and because of that, for you, I will do anything, even make a fool of myself, even openly call myself a hypocrite, because that's what this is; a love letter._

_I can't officially say that I'm confessing my love to you, though. You see, I'm living in a sort of dream right now. A misguided dream where I don't know who I am. I have been for a while now. I have a mother and sister that love me and that I protect. I have a girlfriend who is beautiful and fun and who I am dedicated to. I have good grades, only a little above average, and many friends. I am well fit, healthy, attractive, and active. At least that's what everyone thinks._

_In truth, I want more than this. More than my life. It's because I'm fooling myself. I don't enjoy any of those things I have mentioned. My family…is not my top priority. My girlfriend…I don't love. My friends…I barely care about. Myself…I could matter less. I've only recently figured out that I'm tired of acting as a clone skipping along the path that everyone follows._

_I want to rebel, and in order to do that, I need to see the things that I really do care about, that I really am inspired by, that I really do love. I've realized that I've thought about many things different. Like nature, animals…all of a sudden, I care more, think more, about the smallest mammal or insect that before I thought useless._

_Now, I've started to pay more attention to people. My family, girlfriend, and friends…I've realized how I really don't care about them at all. I'm starting to want to be with different people that I'd never even thought about before. And suddenly, I've noticed you. You, who I have been watching in secret for so long now. You, who I've known so long but never cared about. You, Hinata Hyuuga._

_I love you._

_Everything you do, everything you are. You're beautiful, sweet, kind-hearted, caring, everything I want, everything I need._

_I don't mean to turn you away. I don't mean to scare you in any way. I know this is all very sudden. I know you probably think I'm strange. And I even think so too, now that I've read over every sentence in this letter hundreds of times…I understand…_

_But I would like you to please understand that this is not the last time you will hear of me. I will drop you a letter now and then for a while now, and I will always give you a helping hand, a word of advice or comfort. You don't need to contact me back. I don't want to let you know who I am just yet. I just want to talk to you for once, as I sort my life out. I will continue to refer to myself as 'Anonymous.'_

_I hope you don't mind. Thank you for reading at all, if you are._

_Always,_

_Anonymous_

As soon as I finished reading the letter, I read it again. And again, and again. And gradually, as I kept reading it over and over again almost to the point of memorization, a smile snuck it's way onto my face.

**Temari**;

I didn't want to go to school.

For the first time, I didn't want to wake up and take a shower, fix my hair and makeup, get dressed in an outfit of my choice from my wide variety of styled clothes, and walk out the door to the car outside, driving my brothers to school together. I didn't want to go to Asuma's class and listen to him talk, writing down problems and formulas while texting to my friends with my cell phone under my desk. I didn't want to eat lunch with the cheerleading squad and chat and gossip and laugh, then go back to class, then go to my favorite part of the day, cheerleading, and, well, just have the time of my life!

Because I didn't want to see Shikamaru. For the first time, I was ready to skip school…just to avoid him! And when I didn't want to go to school, there was only one option to get out of it.

Fake a very serious illness.

"So you don't feel good, you say?" Gaara asked me, his eyes narrowed, standing in the frame of my bedroom door. Light from the hallway spilled in behind him and accented his facial features, almost making him seem sterner and stricter if possible. I pulled my comforter up to my chin in an effort to make it look like I was cold.

I let out another low cough from deep in my chest, trying to make it as realistic as possible, and forced my voice into a deep throaty hoarse one. "No, not at all." I gasped. I winced inwardly. It sounded like I was choking on an apple peel. '_I really hope he takes it the right way._'

Unfortunately, it didn't look like luck was very much on my side that morning, because Gaara didn't look convinced in the slightest. In fact, he looked rather annoyed. "Alright. So what's wrong?"

I thought around frantically. "M-My throat." I coughed again. "It hurts a lot. And I have a really bad headache too. I really don't think I can go to school today, Gaara."

"Mhm…" He crossed his arms and sighed. "So you'll even miss cheerleading practice because one guy asked you out?"

I groaned and immediately gave up the act. "Come on, Gaara, he's in my class! He sits right next to me all day! The lazy ass…How can I concentrate with him sitting next to me?!"

"Temari, be mature, please."

"I am! At least more than _him_! What kind of guy asks two other guys to ask him out anyways? A loser, that's who!"

Gaara eyed me closely. "You're really upset about this, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

He watched me in silence for a while, then he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, opening his mouth as if to say something important, but Kankerou pushed him aside and looked in on me. "You're still asleep?! You're going to be late, Temari!"

**TenTen**;

"Morning." Ino managed to say through a loud yawn. Sakura and I had greeted her at the porch, sitting on the bottom step till she came out at last, dressed in an orange designed tank and a jean mini-skirt. Now she was locking and closing her front door behind her. Sakura, sitting next to me, twisted around to give her a sleepy smile in return. Sakura herself wore a blue, plaid halter top and khaki capris. Both of them had their hair up in sloppy buns. And _I_ wore a white turtle neck, sleeveless shirt and jean capris, my hair up in two buns on top of my head. I felt a little plain compared to them, understandably enough. But I was used to it by now, and I didn't really mind, because they sure didn't. They weren't the type of people to care about how people dressed.

We all gathered our bags and started on our way to school together. As we walked, Ino glanced sideways at Sakura. We were all a little too tired and groggy at the moment to say much, but Ino gathered up the little bit of wakefulness she actually carried with her and said, "Sakura, did you tell TenTen yet?"

"Tell me what?" I asked as Sakura snapped her fingers.

"Oh! Whoops, forgot."

"Might as well tell her now."

"Tell me _what_?" I asked again.

Ino sighed slowly. "I'll tell her…See, TenTen…Sakura and I…we joined an after school club together."

I blinked. "Oh, really? Which one?"

"Well, actually…we joined the Dance Team." Sakura corrected Ino quietly.

I nodded slowly. "Oh. That's cool, I remember you guys talking about wanting to try out for that. Looks like you got in." I sort of felt jealous, since at my old school I was the captain of the dance team. I'd always loved dancing. Why I didn't try out for the dance team here was beyond me, I really just didn't feel like it, probably since I was so new.

"Well, yes, but…it meets every day after school." Sakura said.

"So…we won't be able to walk with you." Ino mumbled, fidgeting with her hands in front of her.

I understood their reasons for acting this way, suddenly, and looked at them. "Oh…Well, that's okay!" I said honestly.

Ino and Sakura looked at me anxiously. "Really?" Sakura asked.

I smiled as brightly as I could at them. "Yeah, sure. I'll wait for you guys at the park for an hour and finish my homework there, I don't mind."

'_I have a feeling I'm gonna be busy anyways…_' I thought as I remembered yesterday's meeting with Neji.

"Thanks for understanding, TenTen!" Ino said happily, both her and Sakura looking relieved.

'_They have no idea…_'

**Temari**;

"_Wow_, Temari, I can't _believe_ that happened to you!"

It was about a half hour before school hours, and I was with my friends from cheerleading - Karin, Ami, and Kin - in the school cafeteria. That was where all the kids hung out before school. As soon as I had entered the cafeteria, I was whisked away to sit, instead of in our usual corner surrounded by _all_ the boys that you had to be _somebody_ to even _talk to_, and into a dark, secluded corner, isolating me completely and pressing me into the wall.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, annoyed. I could see Sai, one of the most attractive boys out of the bunch, waiting in the usual spot, girls flocking around him, and felt a pang of impatience and jealousy. I really wanted to talk to him today.

"About your little _incident_ yesterday!" Karin says as if I'm an idiot. "Duh!"

"What incident…?" I had an idea, though, what they were referring to.

Ami sighed slowly. "The fact that you got asked out by Shikamaru yesterday, _that_ incident!"

I looked away from them. "Oh…yeah…" I groaned inwardly. '_Here it comes…the interrogation…_'

"I can understand why you turned him down!" Kin said. "But couldn't you have done it a little _nicer_?!"

I stared at the three curious, slightly angry faces in surprise. "What?"

"He had the guts to ask your brothers to ask you out for him, and you just yelled 'NO!' right away!" Ami explained. "Isn't that kind of rude?!"

"What are you talking about?! Why shouldn't I be rude to him, he pissed me off! He has the nerve to insult me in class, then ask me out in the most cowardly way possible?! Come on, he was asking for it! He had it coming the entire time!"

"Oh come on, Temari, don't be so overdramatic. He's not that bad." Karin said, sniffing.

"Yes, he is." I muttered. "Trust me."

"But he's kind of cool! In a geeky little way. Besides, nerds are the new preppies!" Karin said, throwing her hands up for emphasis.

I almost laughed. "Shikamaru? Cool? He's the farthest you can _get _from cool! He's _boring_, girls! Bo-ring!"

"Temari-"

The bell interrupted Kin, and she sighed. "We'll talk about this at lunch."

"I can't meet you guys at lunch today, I have to meet up with my teacher to make up a test from last week." I said immediately, suddenly gleeful about the fact that a week ago I had been dreading.

Ami narrowed her eyes stubbornly. "Well then we'll continue this at cheerleading practice. See you then."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. See you." We separated, me leaving the cafeteria as quickly as I could. I honestly had no intentions of letting them continue the conversation at cheerleading practice. I'd have to work them all extra hard today.

As I left through the throng of students, I couldn't help but notice something. Kids, crowding together and avoiding me as they walked, whispering under their breaths to each other, shifting their eyes quickly to me then back to each other.

As if they didn't want me to hear. As if it was _about_ me. And I had a good idea of what they were talking about. I narrowed my eyes and sped up. '_Shikamaru Nara, this is all your fault, your fault if my precious reputation is ruined! If I ever get over this and get enough courage to face you straight on, I swear I will-_!'

I didn't get to finish my threat, because without warning, a hand shot out of no where and grabbed my arm, yanking me out of the throng of kids and into a side door-way. Not expecting it, I let out a very un-womanly-like shriek and ripped my wrist away from that hand, but that was a mistake. Losing stability and balance, I fell to the ground awkwardly and painfully.

"Oof!"

I groaned and closed my eyes tightly. And it only became more unpleasant when I heard a familiar, deep, careless voice drone out, "For a cheerleader you sure aren't very graceful, are you?"

**Mara**;  
wooooow, it's finished. didn't take too long, did it? LOL, sorry about the late updates recently. I'm just really busy lately, and I still haven't even _started_ my summer homework (a big book report). Actually, I'm not planning to. I'm just a little bit of a procrastinator…XD  
**I would like reviews please and thanks! **(;  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	3. A Game

_If there's a spring must there be winter?_

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Three_

**Temari**;

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded furiously up at Shikamaru, standing over me and looking pretty annoyed. '_He's looking annoyed?! What about me, god damn it?!_' I thought bitterly.

"I _think_ I'm trying to clear some things up for you, _Princess_."

"Wh…What did you call me?!"

"What you somehow expect you are." Shikamaru muttered under his breath, then he sighed and closed his eyes. "Get up, would you?"

I growled angrily and clambered to my feet slowly. "It's considered manners to help a lady up when she falls."

"I know that. And you're not a lady, nor do you have manners. Why should I do something for you?"

I felt like screaming and hitting something, but I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You'd better have a good reason for this. You know what will happen to my rep if I'm found here with _you_?! It's already damaged enough!"

"I could honestly care less. Now listen up, I have to tell you something, and it's not what you think."

I groaned. "Oh shit, if you're going to confess your love to me I might as well make plans for a transfer already…"

"_I don't like you_. I never asked you out."

"Damn it, now I have to transfer, I can't believe-! Hold on, say what?"

"I told you, didn't I?"

"But…Kankerou and Gaara said-"

"They obviously know you well enough to understand that you'd freak out if they played a prank on you." I felt my mouth drop open.

"It was…a _prank_…?!"

"_Yes_. However, they knew you well enough also to see that you wouldn't figure that out till someone spelled it out for you."

"But…but…!" I gaped.

"Oh close your mouth, you're not a fish. It's not that big of a deal, just understand that I don't like you and I never asked you out."

I snapped my mouth shut, then clenched my jaw. "God damn it! Gaara and Kankerou are gonna die!"

Shikamaru snorted scornfully, receiving my irritated attention again. "I bet you thought _I_ was the embarrassing one in this situation…turns out it's you." he said, looking satisfied.

'_Oh no. I will not let him get satisfaction from my misfortune! Look out, lazy-ass, the tables are turning_!'

"Actually, it's still you." I said simply, calming and giving him a sly smile.

"What?" he asked, giving me a lazy look in return, not looking interested or intimidated at all. '_That's about to change…_' I thought angrily.

"The entire school's convinced that you're infatuated with me." I explained, shrugging. "So I'm not alone in this. You are."

"Even if I am, it's nothing to be ashamed about. I was the only one not foolish enough to believe your brothers' idiotic story."

I felt my eye twitch but ignored that. "You're not grasping the fact that you're still a rejected man in everyone else's point of view." I sang. "Looks like the joke's still on you!"

"Not particularly. I could care less what people think of me, Princess."

I flinched at the awful, insulting nickname that he spit at me yet again. "Even if you're the biggest loser in the school?" I managed to say.

"Yes, even." he said simply, shrugging. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd rather not be late to my class."

"H…Hey! You can't just walk away from me like that!"

"Watch me." With that, he turned on his heel and left me behind to seethe in silence.

**Hinata**;

I unfolded the letter under my desk and spread it along my lap, over the folds of my navy blue skirt. My fingers delicately traced the dents where the pen had pressed into the paper. That was all I needed to feel reassured that it was still there, still truthful, still a wonder to me.

Of course it wasn't like I was in love. I didn't fall in love by just reading a letter. But for the first time, I thought I realized something; Someone was watching me, for once. I had lived my entire life unwatched, unknown. And now that I knew someone was there all the time, it scared me to think that perhaps it wasn't such a bad feeling. Scared me because I was suddenly changing my feelings, all of a sudden.

I sighed and tried to clear my head. It was the last hour of the day, and Kurenai was taking things slowly. I wished she'd just let us out early instead of dragging it on, but of course it was her class and she had the right to do so…

But for some reason I was really looking forward to seeing Naruto Uzumaki. I was nervous, of course. It wasn't like me to be so bold, heading to the address of a complete stranger. However, I still thought it was right. I didn't even have a school bag now, since it had been ruined in the fountain at the library, and because of him. I had to carry my work in my little white canvas bag. Which wasn't exactly comfortable, or organized in the least.

Finally the bell rang and Kurenai dismissed us politely, and I hurried out the door, remembering to fold my anonymous letter up neatly and slip it back into my bag. I didn't bother going to my locker and walked straight outside into the blinding sun.

I tucked some hair behind my ear and glanced around as I made my way down the sidewalk. It was a windy day, and the lukewarm air felt good against the skin of my cheek, rustling the cloth of my navy sweater, the long sleeves of my yellow shirt beneath peeking out from the hems of it and covering half of my hands comfortably. I smiled a bit, relaxing.

"Hey!"

I smiled at Naruto walking towards me and waving wildly, his arm swinging side to side in the air like a windmill, dressed in jeans and an orange and black, turtle-neck sports jacket. We stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, other students pressing past us gently, and he grinned. "So, you didn't forget about the promise I made, did you?"

I laughed. "No, I didn't."

"Good! Come on, then, I'll take you to my place!" He started walking briskly down the sidewalk and I hurried to keep up with him. He let me walk by his side and turned to grin at me. "By the way, did I mention I'm rooming with someone?"

I felt my lips part a bit in mild surprise. "Oh…um, no…"

"Yeah. His name's Sasuke Uchiha." I turned my face a bit and pressed my lips to my shoulder, mouthing his name discreetly, testing it. Naruto continued, not noticing. "He's a complete bastard, but he won't bother you."

"Oh…I look forward to meeting him."

"Trust me, you don't."

I just laughed.

**TenTen**;

'_Damn it, why I am I so nervous?!_' I thought desperately as I leaned against the usual tree, the rough bark rubbing against my back. '_It's just a stupid kid that thinks he's the coolest thing in the world that's gonna try to show me around my new town. It's not a big deal!_'

For some reason, my brain didn't seem to be connected to my mouth, because I said out loud, "Scary…"

I didn't notice Neji walking up to me slowly until he asked curiously, "What's scary?" I glanced up at him and looked him over. His outfit was a dark green zip-up jacket over a grey tee, jeans, and some dark sneakers beneath them. His long hair was in a pony tail yet again. '_Well he looks as stylish as ever. What is he, a model?_' I thought bitterly.

"Nothing's scary, never mind." I muttered. I yawned and stretched my arms out a bit. "Well, let's get this over with. You're in control, mister master-mind."

Neji snorted at the nickname. "Follow me, then." He waited for me to straighten up and grab my bag, but then he shook his head. "You can leave your bag here." he said, and demonstrated by dumping his own on the bench across the trail from the tree.

I looked down uncertainly at the bench. "Aren't you afraid of people stealing your things?"

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Here? No." He took my bag suddenly and set it next to his on the bench. I gave him a look, and he smiled. "Alright, if your bag is gone by the time we come back I'll buy you another one and do your homework for the rest of the year. I promise."

I grinned. "That's better than nothing."

He nodded. "Let's go then." He started walking, and I hurried to catch up and walk by his side.

"So where _are_ we going?" I asked curiously.

"You'll see."

"You could just tell me…"

"And that would take all the fun out of it, wouldn't it?"

"…Okay…"

**Hinata**;

"Here we are! My home!" Naruto declared.

We had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk down a short, dead-end side street just a block down from my own house. It was quiet and calm, trees lining the suburban drive and the familiar sound of bird-calls and rustles of small rodents, just like my street. Naruto's house was made of grey brick, and the first thing I noticed about it was that it was tiny, the smallest on his street. The foundation seemed to be crumbling a bit, showing how old the house must have been. There was a miniature wooden porch leading up to a wooden white door, deprived of a screen door in front of it, and the paint peeling as a result.

However, despite those facts, I thought it was rather cute. I smiled and nodded at Naruto, who grinned. "This is the place you're gonna be visiting for the next three months, so I hope you'll like it. Well, let's go inside!" He led the way up the creaking porch and to the front door. He grasped the little golden knob and tried to open it, then swore lightly when nothing happened.

"Damn bastard! He locked the door behind him!"

"Well…don't you have the key…?" I asked shyly.

He nodded as he dug around in his bag. "Yeah, but I think it's annoying having to unlock the door every day." he said, pulling the key out and sticking it in the lock. I giggled.

He opened the door, and we stepped inside a dusty, dark living room. The carpet was grey, and the walls were a dull white. The room was unlit, but there was a standing lamp in one corner, and one wide window along the wall, some blinds covering them but some sunlight leaking in through the cracks. Naruto walked over to the window now and pulled the blinds open to light the room.

There was a navy couch pushed against the wall with a coffee table in front of it, and Naruto threw his bag on top of the couch now. He turned to me with a grin. "So what do you think?" I opened my mouth to say something, like 'Very nice,' or 'I like it,' but Naruto snapped his fingers. "Of course, how could I ask you something like that?! How rude of me! You've only seen one room! Come on, let me show you the rest of the house, then!" With that, he pushed the small of my back down the hall from the living room.

"Okay, so this is the bathroom." he said pointing to the first door on the left. "And here's the laundry room across the hall…Right next to it's the kitchen…And here's the bedroom!"

'_I was right…the house really is tiny…_' I thought, somewhat amused.

He winced suddenly and laughed. "And...I have to go to the bathroom! Be right back…You can check out the bedroom if you want while I'm gone!" He sped off to the bathroom, closing the door loudly behind him, and I laughed a little under my breath and turned to the bedroom door, opening it slowly.

I felt my lips part when I opened the door to see someone on one of the beds, the one closest to the door. He had raven-black hair that was styled strangely in the back and even darker eyes, and he was lying on his back, legs drawn up and his hands resting, crossed at the wrist, on his knees. He was dressed in a black, leather jacket and skinny jeans. Those coal-black eyes had been staring at the ceiling, but now they darted my way, and as soon as he noticed me he sat straight up and gave me a look.

"What the hell, who are _you_?" he asked rudely, raising an eyebrow. "And what are you doing in my house?"

I swallowed hard, biting my lip. "U…umm…" For some reason, words couldn't come to me. I wasn't used to someone so harsh.

"Well?" he asked loudly, getting annoyed. "What are you doing here?" I still couldn't seem to choke anything out. "You gonna say something or do I have to make you?" he asked again, eyes narrowing.

"I…"

"Hey, stop being a bastard to Hinata-chan, Sasuke." Naruto suddenly came from behind me, blue eyes glaring, his lips frowning. "Okay, Hinata-chan, this is Sasuke. You know, the bastard I told you about? He's my roommate."

"N…Nice to meet you…" I barely whispered.

Sasuke snorted. "Wow, Naruto, I knew it. You're being an idiot again and bringing a girl here for-"

"Shut your mouth, bastard, I wouldn't do that!"

"I beg to differ, idiot. Now leave me alone, I was trying to relax."

"Gladly, _bastard_! Come on, Hinata-chan." Naruto slammed the bedroom door shut and dragged me down the hall.

I licked my lips. For some reason, my mouth had gone dry.

**TenTen**;

"…A basketball court…?"

"That's what it is, yes."

"_Why_ did you bring me to a basketball court…?"

"Because it's where my friends are after school."

"What? You said they were in an afterschool club!"

"I lied."

"Why didn't you just say they played basketball after school?"

"Because what I said before was simpler. I was in a particularly lazy mood yesterday."

"You are one frustrating person…"

We were standing by the fence of a basketball court down the street from the school, watching as a bunch of shirtless guys ran about throwing their big orange ball around. Neji leaned a bit on the gate and called, "Sai, Lee."

He caught the attention of two boys, who turned and ran over, grinning widely. One of them was shirtless, black gym shorts on, and the other was in green sports-wear. They came to a stop by us and wiped sweat off their brows, breathing a little heavily.

"Yo Neji, how's it goin'?" the shirtless one asked. He had black hair and coal-black eyes, and was deathly pale and skinny. But other than that, he was mildly attractive.

"Fine, Sai." Neji said, shrugging. "How's practice coming along?"

"It's wonderful, Neji-kun! And who is your beautiful comrade?"

I blushed a little at the second boy's compliment and looked him over. Bowl-shaped black hair, round, dark eyes, and a set of large, caterpillar-like eyebrows above them. Kind of strange looking, but I'd learned not to judge people.

"Oh, this is TenTen, Lee. TenTen, this is Lee and Sai."

I smiled at them, a little shy, but they both gave me such heartwarming grins that I had to get over myself and said, "Hi, nice to meet you."

"It is wonderful to meet you as well, TenTen-chan!" Lee cried. I raised my eyebrow at the dramatization.

Sai nodded. "If I could reach through the gate, I'd shake hands."

I laughed a bit, and Lee leaned forward, eyes narrowed at me. "Say, you look familiar. Do you go to Forest High?"

"Yeah."

"Ah! Do you know the beautiful cherry-blossom Sakura Haruno?! Have I seen you around her before?!"

"…The beautiful cherry-blossom…?" I asked, now raising both of my eyebrows. "Um, yeah, I know Sakura. I live right next door to her, we-"

"EXCELENT!" I jumped and stared as Lee curled his fingers through the fence and stared straight at me. "TenTen-chan! Please do me an enormous favor and I shall be forever in your debt! I will do anything for you if you do this one, wondrous thing that shall change my life, and possibly many others' lives, forever! I will-!"

"Okay, okay, just spit it out...!" I said, backing away as Neji and Sai shook their heads exasperatedly.

"Please give her this letter of youthful love for me! Oh, and this rose! Be right back!"

Lee sped off towards the locker rooms, and I felt my mouth drop open. "He's…"

"…Yeah. We know." Sai said, groaning and rubbing his temples. "He's hard to keep up with, that one, but he really does mean well."

I smiled a bit. "Yeah, he's a nice guy."

"So, why are you hanging around our Neji anyways?"

"…_Your_ Neji…?"

"Jesus Christ, don't call me that, Sai, you sound like a pedophile…" Neji muttered. "And she's hanging around with me because she has nothing better to do. Right, TenTen?"

"…Wha-?" Neji gave me a meaningful look, and I understood. He was trying to spare me the embarrassment. '_Wow…that's actually nice…_' I thought, and I turned back to Sai. "Yeah, that's right. Lame, huh?" Neji nodded ever-so-discreetly at me, and I smiled a bit.

"Not really. Konoha's a pretty boring place." Sai leaned against the gate and watched me. I smirked at Neji, and he rolled his eyes. "Unless," Sai continued suddenly, ", you know how to get around. And that's probably your problem." I frowned as Neji snickered behind his hand, and Sai looked me over. "So, Lee's seen you around, but I haven't? Are you in our grade or what? We're all sophomores."

'_So Neji's the same age as me…_'

"I'm a sophomore too, but I'm new here by two weeks." I explained. "I moved from Kiri."

"Whoa, so you're, like, a farm-girl?" I coughed and he quickly corrected himself. "Sorry, I don't mean to be offensive or stereotypical or anything like that."

"It's okay, I get it. I grew up on a farm anyways." I said with a laugh.

"I am back! TenTen-chan, here!" Lee suddenly leapt at the gate and stuffed a thick, pink envelope with a rose taped to it delicately through the gate and into my fumbling hands. "Please deliver that to Sakura-chan safely!"

I glanced at it. "Uh, okay…"

Neji sighed. "Well I didn't take you here to talk, or deliver pointless love letters. Lee, Sai, tell your team I'd like to see a match."

"Eh? But we just started warm-up, Neji-kun!"

"Surely you're not saying-"

"I mean after warm-up, not right now."

"_Oh_…Okay!" Sai and Lee said at the same time, then they both ran off to call the rest of the team over. I laughed as they left.

"I like your friends, they're funny."

"They are, aren't they?" Neji said, looking after them and tilting his head to the side fondly. "They're not my only friends, but they're definitely my best friends. I'm glad you like them." I blushed a little and turned back to the team, frustrated. Neji was the first and only boy to make me blush, ever. It was odd.

I watched as they yelled arrangements, split up into teams, and then began the game. It was fun, actually, watching the boys run around and shout to each other, pushing and shoving and doing their best, and Neji seemed to enjoy it as well. As we watched them, boys that were sitting out and waiting their turn stood by us and introduced themselves to me, then talked to Neji. Apparently Neji was pretty popular around Konoha, from what I overheard.

When the game was over, the team that Lee was on won, only because Lee was so amazing at basketball. "I've never seen people so good at one sport." I admitted to Neji as Lee's team celebrated and bragged and patted him on the back, and the other team either sulked or congratulated them.

"Really? Then you must not get much sports action back at your home town, huh?" Neji said, smirking slyly at me.

I frowned. '_Damn, he got me…One point for Neji…but I swear, I'm not going to let him win!_' I promised darkly.

Neji interrupted my thoughts when he tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to him, and he smirked again. "Want to try?"

**Hinata**;

"Okay! So what's our first order of business to attend to? What do you need the most?" Naruto asked, grinning at me.

"Well, I need a bag-"

"Don't worry, I'll get you one right away!" I blinked in surprise as he jumped to his feet and ran off. I heard a bang and a loud, "Idiot, what are you doing?! I said not to bother me!", then, "I need that fifty dollars I gave you a while back!"

"What?! You said I could keep that!"

"Yeah, well I take it back! Give me that fifty dollars!"

I sighed. '_This is going to be a long day…_'

"Ha-_ha_! Found it! In your face, bastard!"

"Idiot…! Fine, take the stupid money, but you'd better pay me back for getting you a Pepsi the other day, got that?!"

"Nyah!" Naruto came back into the room triumphantly, five ten dollar bills held tightly in his smug hand. "Alright, Hinata-chan. Where do you want to go to get your bag?"

I smiled. "Um…They sell them at the school, right…?"

He frowned. "Yeah, but are you sure you want one from there? Don't you want a really nice one?"

"No, really, a simple school bag is fine."

"Oh, alright. Well, let's go then. I'm sure they're open, there's clubs going on until a couple hours and if we're in luck the school store's open." I stood and followed him out the door.

"And if not?" I asked as we stepped down the porch and began our way to the school.

"I'll take you to the office, maybe they'll get one for us."

"And what if they won't…?"

"You're not very optimistic, are you?"

I giggled. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried."

Naruto smiled. "Don't worry. I promise, I'll get a bag one way or the other. If the office won't get you one, then we can go shopping for one at the mall, it's not that far of a walk away from here."

I smiled back at him. "Thank you."

**TenTen**;

"Wow, TenTen, you're great!" Sai said as I threw yet another ball straight through the basket.

I grinned. "I always did have perfect aim." I said thoughtfully. "Not to brag or anything."

"Please, _do_ brag, TenTen-chan, you deserve to! I have never met someone so amazing at basketball!"

"I didn't even play, Lee."

"Yes, but you never missed the basket! You got the ball through perfectly each time!"

"It's not that big of a deal." I said, shrugging and turning to Neji. I was inside of the basketball court now. Neji had suggested me trying basketball out as the rest of the team except Lee and Sai left, and I decided to give it a shot. And literally, I shot the basketball. Perfectly. Each time.

Neji was smirking now, something that looked suspiciously like pride glittering in his eyes, and nodded at me. "Alright, I'll take you back now."

"Hey, she can't stay longer?" Sai asked. "She's cool!"

I blushed, and Neji shook his head. "I promised I'd take her back before the hour was over. You guys can go shower and get changed, I'll meet you at the park later."

"Okay, see ya. Nice to meet you, TenTen."

"It was lovely to meet you, flower of youth!"

I laughed. "Yeah, see you." I left the basketball court by Neji's side and we began our walk back to the park.

"That was interesting. I didn't know you were into sports." Neji said, glancing sideways at me, smirk still in place.

"I didn't either." I admitted.

He grinned now. "Another reason to prove I'm right."

"Damn it, not again!" Neji watched as I fisted my hands by my sides and walked grouchily down the sidewalk. "So…You come from Kiri, huh? That's all I know about you. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like hobbies. Likes and dislikes, that sort of thing. Just to pass the time while we walk."

"Will you return the favor?"

"Sure, whatever you want."

I shrugged. "Alright…Well, my hobbies…I love fortune telling, I think it's really interesting. I like being busy, I hate just sitting still for too long. When I'm bored, I like to research on things that I don't really know about. And I like to dance. I used to be on the dance team at my old school but now I'm not…even though I wish I was, because Ino and Sakura are in it." I don't know why, but I really liked opening up to Neji. He seemed to be really interested, and I liked that. "My favorite foods…Well, I like Chinese food, and I really like Sesame Dango…But I hate Umeboshi. Whoever thought about dried plums as a delicacy was an idiot." Neji laughed, and I glanced up at him. "Your turn."

He looked forward. "Alright…Well, I like to research as well, but I'm not so much of a busybody as you are…I like doing things that can clear my mind. Meditating, reading, listening to music…among many other things are my hobbies. I like thinking things through slowly. I like to watch things, really, like sports or dances, things like that. I observe physical things a lot." he smiled a bit. "Hmm…My favorite food would have to be sushi, and my least favorite…would be pocky. I've never liked sweets, I like more organic things."

"That's sort of the same with me, except I'm guilty when it comes to ice cream."

He smirked. "Well same here, that's actually the only sweet thing I can stand." We both laughed a bit, and then Neji said, "We're here." We walked through the park and over to the usual spot. I leaned against the tree and Neji sat on the bench as usual. "So, I assume you enjoyed it?"

I frowned. I didn't want to admit it, but I couldn't lie to him…

"TenTen!"

My frown soon transformed into a smirk. '_Ino and Sakura, you saved me_.' I thought slyly. "Gotta go! I have a love letter to give Sakura."

I grabbed my bag from the bench next to Neji and started to turn away, but then Neji said, "See you tomorrow, then."

I stopped walking, literally. Then I smiled. "Mhm!" I walked away, slower, and with a bit of a bounce in my step. '_I don't know why I'm so happy. But you know what? I don't care. At least I am happy. Thanks, Neji._'

**Mara**;  
Yeah, I know Neji's supposed to have a very low pony-tail. But in this story, he has a regular pony-tail, cause he's out-of-character and stylish. I think he'd be pretty sexy with a pony-tail, anyways, don't you think? XD  
**Reviews** would be great, uh-huh. **;)**  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	4. A Promise

_Wait and see truth will find you._

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Four_

**Temari**;

"Get the door, would you Temari?"

"Why can't you, Kankerou? Or Gaara?"

"_We can't move from our beds_."

"Right…Okay!" I called through the wall of my room to my brothers' room next door. I set aside my magazine and my cell phone and stood, stretching. School was over, and I was spending the rest of the day living out my revenge. Now, I was taking a small break, but I wasn't finished yet.

I snickered to myself under my breath as I walked to the door. '_Oh, I have a whole lot more in store for them…_'

"Hello?" I greeted loudly, opening the door. I froze. "What…._What are you doing here_?!"

Shikamaru winced. "Quiet down, troublesome woman!" he said over my yelling.

I stopped, seething, to see what he was dressed in, something I'd gotten into the habit of a long time ago. '_Can you say gothic…?_' I thought, frowning in distaste. He wore a black band shirt and baggy jeans with chains. '_Weirdo_.'

"Are you done screaming?" he muttered.

I snapped back into 'defensive mode'. "I asked you a question god damn it! Tell me what you're doing here!"

"Calm down, would you? I'm here to schedule our tutoring for tomorrow."

"It doesn't start till-"

"Saturday, but Asuma decided to be an ass and-"

"He said we need to take advantage of the opportunity and start-"

"As soon as possible, so we need to get together starting-"

"Tomorrow so-"

"We have enough time-"

"To study and-"

"Improve ourselves." We said the last line at the same time and stared at each other for a bit, then started laughing.

"I guess we really know our idiot teacher." I said sheepishly.

Shikamaru nodded, still laughing, then stopped abruptly and cleared his throat. He watched me closely. "Have you gotten back at your brothers yet…?"

I smirked, then we both heard Kankerou's loud scream. "AH! WHAT THE FUCK, TEMARI?! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET A BUCKET OF DEAD SPIDERS?! GRAH, _SHIT_!"

"I'm in the middle of it." I said casually, examining my violet fingernails.

Shikamaru snorted. "I didn't know a preppie like you could get your hands dirty like that. You actually got a bucket full of dead spiders, princess?"

I flushed dark red. "Damn lazy ass, how long are you gonna insist on calling me that?!"

"Till I feel like stopping. Of course, no matter how much you act like you think you're one, it's not like you really do. If you're not even terrified of spiders like most girls you're obviously not very lady like."

I glowered at him. "Shut up. Just because I'm not scared of spiders doesn't mean I'm not ladylike."

"Ladies don't go around looking for dead spiders to dump on their brothers just because they did a small prank on you."

"I said shut up! Let's just discuss this on the porch because I'm honestly not in the mood to let you in my house!"

"That's where I'm going to be for the next three months."

"…Come in…" I said gloomily.

He gave a short laugh as I led him into my living room and sat down on the sofa, pointing next to me, gesturing for him to sit down as well. "Well, let's get this over with." I said as he sat down slowly, dark eyes sweeping the room once, uninterested.

"All we need to do is figure out a time we can both manage." he said, turning to me.

"After cheerleading practice."

"That is…?"

"It ends at four thirty. Is that good?"

"It's fine."

"…Okay, that was simple. Now get out."

"Hey, we're not finished yet. Here." He suddenly handed me the most enormous book I'd seen in my entire life, dropping it carelessly into my hands.

"Wha!" I cried out when my hands dropped into my lap, crushed by the stupid book that Shikamaru seemed to hold up so effortlessly. He was probably used to it, carrying books like that around all the time. "Wh-What is this?! It's the biggest fucking thing I've ever seen!"

"You sure don't mind watching your mouth when you're not in school."

"That's cause there's no one there to see me..."

"…What…?"

"Nothing, nothing! What's this book for?" I asked, pushing it onto the coffee table, wincing at the weight.

"That's a calculus book. Asuma wants every formula in it memorized by the end of our three months of tutoring or you fail."

"_WHAT?!_"

Shikamaru winced again. "Didn't I say not to scream…?"

"No, you just asked me if I was done, and I am _not_! How the hell is it even possible to memorize _every single formula_ in the book by _three months_?! It's _not_! I'll never do it! He can't do this to me!"

"Apparently he can. Good luck."

"But it's not fair! I can't do this! And if I fail, I'll…! I'll…! I won't be able to go to college, I'll…What do I do?!"

Shikamaru watched me for a while, then he sighed, shoulders sagging. "That's my job."

"It's not like you're getting paid."

"Yeah, well, I do get some extra credit points that will for sure get _me_ into a college, so I guess we both have to try hard on this."

"Wh…What…?"

"In other words it's my job to get you to pass, because we'll both benefit greatly. And if you don't pass, well, we'll both be at a great disadvantage. So…" He closed his eyes as if mentally preparing himself, then opened them to look straight at me. "I swear that I'll do what I can to help you." He looked away from me at the end of his small proposal, a frown on his face.

I smiled a bit in spite of myself. "Okay, then. I'll return the favor." He turned and smirked at me.

"Cool."

There was a silence.

"Now get the hell out of my house."

**TenTen**;

"So how was it, TenTen? The hour alone?" Ino asked curiously as we sat on her living room floor, eating the mashed potatoes and gravy I had so generously (and correctly for once, I always did have an issue with cooking) created on a whim as she and Sakura finished their homework.

I looked up and swallowed. "It was nice…" I said carefully. I was still going over whether or not I should tell them about Neji and all that, and until I figured it out, I decided I wouldn't tell them just yet. "I just sat by the tree and listening to music." I nodded my head to my bag in the corner of the living room where my ipod was. "I've decided it's better to concentrate on my homework here, so I'll listen to music for a while…I'm fine with it."

"Okay, that's good!" Ino and Sakura smiled, looking relieved that I wasn't bored the entire time. "This is yummy…" Sakura added, giggling. "Good job!"

I laughed. "Thanks. So, anything new with you guys?"

Ino sighed. "Well, yeah. My boyfriend. He's been acting weird lately, I think he's cheating on me…"

"What?!" Sakura and I asked, leaning forward on the table at the same time.

She giggled. "Ah, never mind. You know what, after all those Soaps me and TenTen have watched over your shoulder, Sakura, I think I'm just being paranoid."

"At least you have someone to be paranoid over. Me, I've only got someone to be scared of."

"What are you talking about? Who?" I asked.

"Rock Lee…"

I winced. '_Oh shit…_'

"He's a nice guy, I guess, but I barely know him and he's always talking to me. Well, actually, he's completely obsessed with me…It's creepy, really. He's annoying. I hope he doesn't like me…Ah, but who am I kidding? No one would like someone like me."

I bit my lip. '_Should I or shouldn't I, should I or shouldn't I?! What's the right thing to do in this situation…?!_'

"_Please deliver this to Sakura-chan safely_!"

I winced yet again when I heard Lee's happy voice echo in my head, repeating the same thing over and over again. "Um, Sakura…"

"Hmm? Sorry, TenTen, I couldn't hear you…I was reminiscing about times when I didn't have to worry about _Rock Lee_."

"About him…"

"Oh, have you met him, TenTen? You don't want to. He's _so_ silly and strange and ugly and obnoxious and…ugh!"

"But Sakura-"

"I mean have you _seen _his hair and eyebrows? _Weirdo_!"

"Sakura, he's giving you a-"

"And he's always talking about youth and crap and is _obsessed _with the color green! I never want to see that freak again!"

I slapped a hand to my forehead, and Sakura and Ino stopped eating. "TenTen, something wrong?"

"No…nothing…" I managed to say through gritted teeth. Then I had an idea. "Sakura…Can I go to your house for a second? I think I left something there yesterday for school."

"Oh, yeah, sure. The door's unlocked."

'_What is it with people in Konoha and not caring about security?!_' I thought, grumbling as I stood and exited Ino's house. '_Aren't they afraid of burglars or bums coming in and taking their things? Actually, come to think of it, I haven't even seen one homeless man here. Weird, maybe they're all hiding._' I shook my head to myself as I finally got into Sakura's house and pulled the love letter out of my back pocket, staring at it. I groaned. '_Well, let's hope it's anonymous._' I thought, and set it reluctantly on her porch, then walked back to Ino's house next door.

"Did you find what you needed that fast, TenTen?" Ino asked as I stepped back inside. Sakura was in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes, and she gave a merry wave with her hand from the doorway.

"Um, I guess I didn't leave it there after all." I said, smiling as confidently as I could. "Well, it's getting kind of late. I might as well go home. See you guys tomorrow."

**Hinata**;

"Wow, it's just like the one I had before…" I said as I walked home with Naruto by my side, holding the new bag that Naruto had bought for me to my shoulder to adjust to it.

"Good! That's what I wanted!" Naruto said happily. I turned at my street, and he peered down it, holding a hand to shade his eyes from the lowering sun, shining brightly against the Alice-blue sky. "This is your street? It's nice, it's a lot like mine. I had no idea you lived so near me, that's good. I don't need to walk you far every day."

"E-Every day…?"

"Well sure! I'm not gonna make you walk home alone, that would be rude of me!" he said, frowning. "You don't think I'd do something like that to you!"

I simply smiled in response. "Thank you, Naruto. This is my house, there's no need for you to walk me any farther."

"Oh, right. See you tomorrow, Hinata!"

"…Of course." I said, my smile widening. I climbed up the porch steps and noticed another envelope at my feet.

I sat down and picked it up, glancing around to see if anyone suspicious was nearby. The street was empty. I shrugged and sat, opening the envelope to look inside it.

_Hinata,_

_I hope you're not offended that I've kept my promise. I'll be writing notes every day, remember._

_I didn't see you today. It's rare that I see you, actually, since we're not in the same class and all. But I feel better that I can communicate with you better this way, because at least I can communicate at all, right?_

_How was your day? I guess I shouldn't be asking questions seeing as you can't answer them, but I just feel like it, I guess. My day went well myself. I'm getting prepared to break up with my girlfriend as kindly as possible. It'll be hard, seeing as we've been going out for so long. But I'm sure we'll both be able to take it. It's for the best. She's a beautiful, strong, confident person, but I'm afraid I don't love her like I love you._

_I'm sorry, I promised I wouldn't do any of that mushy stuff anymore, didn't I? I'll stop for good this time. Well, I hope this note could be of some reassurance that someone cares about you._

_Always,_

_Anonymous_

I smiled at the note. "Anonymous…You really are mysterious." I said aloud with a laugh. I sighed, standing. "Either way, I can't let anyone know about it…" I said to myself, nodding. '_I'll just keep these notes I keep getting as a source of what he said, reassurance. I like being cared about for once, and I'm sure that he'll appreciate my actions. Whoever he is…Maybe someday I'll find out…_' I opened the door and walked inside. "I'm home!"

"Ah, Hinata. Welcome home." my cousin greeted me as I removed my shoes at the door and stepped inside. He eyed my bag. "New?"

"O-Oh, um, yes…my old bag was getting too old so I bought a new one after school today."

"Is that why you're so late? I just got home, but you're usually home way before me."

"Oh, um…Nii-san, speaking of that; I'm going to be at an after school literary club from now on for an hour, so I'll be home at about this time every day from now on. The length is random, though, so I may be home sooner or later sometimes." I had thought up that lie ahead of time, since I knew Neji would be suspicious.

"Oh, well that's fine. Just as long as you're home in time to cook dinner, I'm still helpless in a kitchen."

I giggled. "Of course, Nii-san. What's for dinner today?" Since Neji wasn't the best cook or cleaner (which wasn't an uncommon disadvantage in males after all), he took it upon himself to do the shopping for me, which included getting cooking ingredients to plan meals and cleaning supplies.

"Pasta. I'll be doing my homework in the living room if you need anything."

"Thank you…Nii-san, is there a reason you seem so cheerful? You seem…_happier_ than usual."

Neji paused and blinked. "…Really…?"

"Yes, you were just smiling." I narrowed my eyes, concentrating on his. His eyes told me as well. "Is there something on your mind?" It was a Hyuuga thing; the eyes. We had such blank, seemingly emotionless eyes, but in reality they could give everything away, only if you were used to seeing those eyes or close to the person.

He shook his head. "No, nothing."

"Whatever you say, Nii-san…" I said slowly, not convinced. Meanwhile, I had the strangest feeling that my eyes were giving me away too, because Neji gave me a suspicious look before I left the room.

**Temari**;

The next day went by just the same as any other day. Soon enough, cheerleading had ended, and I was feeling nervous, frustrated, and, well…furious. I exited the locker rooms wearing a violet tank and white sweatpants, stomping harder than necessary through the sand.

My short hair, which was down today, blew around my face and I found myself wishing for a ride as I began my long journey home. However wishing didn't help much, because I got what I didn't want in the first place; I saw Shikamaru, walking in front of me, with two of his friends. I knew them both. One was Chouji, a chubby young man with a never-ending fetish with food, particularly barbeque chips, which he was apparently chomping on that moment. The boy on his other side was Shino, a boy who himself had a different obsession; with _insects_ of all things. He always had on sunglasses and a hood over his head. Together, those three were the geeks of Forest High. I only acknowledged them in one way; avoid communication at all costs. Unfortunately, it didn't look like luck was on my side.

I frowned as I started catching up to them. I hated it when people walked slowly in front of me, and that was exactly what they were doing. People had a tendency to do that when they were walking with their friends. Except me, I'd always been a quick-walker, with my long legs and high energy. So I always found myself stuck behind people like this…

I pondered whether I should walk with Shikamaru to my house or not. We both had to go there after all…But…oh, it looked like his friends were going to walk him halfway there! There was no way I'd be caught _dead_ walking with them. So I decided: I'd ignore him, just walk behind him the entire way and say that I didn't know it was him in front of me. I just hoped he wouldn't notice me…

"Ne, captain! Temari! Good job at cheerleading today, Temari! Bye-bye!"

I winced. '_Damn it!_' A girl from the cheerleading squad screamed my name down the sidewalk. I stopped and turned to see her in the distance, waving cutely. I managed to fake a smile with gritted teeth, though it felt like I had a severe case of lockjaw, and waved back, calling, "Bye, good job!" as happily as I could, then turned around again to see Shikamaru's friends looking over their shoulders at me.

I glared at them and crossed around them to walk in front. '_I'll just ignore Shikamaru. It's not like he cares, and it's not like I have to worry about what he thinks about me._' I told myself mentally. But I heard his friends start to mutter behind me.

"Yo, Shikamaru, that's the chick you're supposed to be tutoring, right?" I heard Chouji ask in a gurgling voice under his breath.

"Yeah, what about her?" Shikamaru asked, sounding bored. As usual…

"She's hott." Chouji and Shino said simultaneously.

I felt myself grow red in anger. Did they _really_ think I couldn't hear them?! I heard Shikamaru cough. Ah, of course, _he_ was the only one sensible enough to know I was listening. But Chouji and Shino obviously didn't get it, because they continued like the idiots they were.

"Damn, you struck lucky, Shikamaru. She's the cheerleading captain." Chouji remarked.

"It's not like tha-"

"Tall, like a model." Shino added, interrupting Shikamaru.

"Supposed to be really cool. Perfect, they say." Chouji said.

"Really high up, socially standardizing."

"And you know…" Chouji said thoughtfully.

"When you really look…" Shino muttered.

Then both of them said, "A nice ass."

"_Excuse me_?!" I yelled, whipping around to face them, unable to take it anymore.

Shikamaru slapped a hand to his forehead, muttering, "Idiots…" under his breath as Chouji and Shino stared at me, surprised. I gave them the best glare I could muster. "Don't you talk about me like that! You're not even on my _radar_ so _get lost, shrimps_!" I yelled. They obviously weren't expecting sweet, preppy Temari to yell at them like that, but I was _through _with the day's charades! '_Heh, they look terrified._' I thought, smirking a bit as I turned around. When I heard them start to laugh nervously, obviously trying to seem cool, I fisted a hand and punched my palm, cracking a knuckle, and they whimpered.

"Uh, yeah, see you later, Shikamaru."

"Call us."

I heard the two scurry off and sighed, relaxing and walking slower than before. "I hate it when guys do that…" I said quietly to myself.

"Sorry, I didn't think they would."

I jumped, surprised. I had no idea Shikamaru was still there. "U-Uh, what?"

"…Never mind." he shook his head at me. "You really are out of it, aren't you?"

"Shut it, lazy ass, or I'll give to you what I have in store for them!"

"You hold grudges quite strongly, don't you?"

"I've been known for that." I said, grinning proudly.

"Not at school, you haven't." Shikamaru pointed out.

I shrugged. "…Whatever." I didn't like where this was going. He already knew that my façade wasn't real. He didn't have to shove it in my face. "I don't like your friends either. I guess I know why you guys hang out together, you're all dick-less freaks." I said randomly.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say princess. At least I'm not an immature brat that enjoys playing a drag-queen."

We both glared at each other as we walked along, then huffed and turned away. '_Well, isn't this insult-central?_' I thought bitterly. "Oh, we're here." I said loudly, irritation clear in my voice.

"Joy." Shikamaru said, dripping sarcasm from every pore. I rolled my eyes and fished around in my bag for the key. My brothers weren't home yet, probably at a friends' house or something. '_Great, we have to be here alone._' I thought angrily as I opened the door and led him inside.

"Well sit down." I said dryly, pointing to the sofa and closing the door behind me. I sat down on the same sofa as far away from him as I could. He noticed the gigantic calculus book sitting on the coffee table and pulled it easily between us.

"Alright, let's get started." he muttered. He sighed and opened it to the first page, looking down into it. "Ah, the first one's easy, you probably already know it. Here." He pulled a notebook and pencil out of his bag and scribbled something down on a sheet of paper, then pushed that and the pencil towards me along the coffee table.

I scooted closer and picked up the notebook. There was some kind of equation that I didn't recognize on it. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

He rolled his eyes. "What else? Solve the equation."

I blinked. "But I don't know how…"

"He raised an eyebrow. "Um, yeah you do. I'm pretty sure everyone in our class knows how to do this, it's simple algebra. Just give it a shot."

"Well, okay…" I looked down at it and swallowed hard. '_How am I ever going to do this…?!_'

**TenTen**;

"So where to today?" I asked Neji as he walked up to me against the tree. Today his hair was the same, but his long bangs were free from the pony tail and hung around his face attractively. Neji opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted him. "Oh, that's right, you want it to be a surprise, don't you?"

"Well, actually, you can't keep a city tour a surprise."

"…Huh…?"

"I'm going to walk you around the city today."

I blinked. "Oh…Well that was unexpected...Isn't that something you should have done yesterday?"

"Yesterday was just an introduction. Today you start learning what this place really is like."

I shrugged. "Alright, whatever you say. But just to let you know, you're not gonna win."

"Win? Since when is this a game?" he asked as we started walking. He grabbed my bag from my arm as we walked and dumped it next to his on the bench before we left, and I winced, having totally forgotten about the bag thing.

"I dunno, you just seem so full of yourself and it looks like you believe that sooner or later I'll think you're this high and mighty guy and start to worship both you and Konoha."

"_That_ is over exaggeration, it has nothing to _do_ with me. I'm simply trying to show you that Konoha is not what you think it is."

"And I'm not gonna let you win!"

"…You really are strange. Anyways…let's take a look over here first."

"I've already been there." I said as Neji motioned to the corner stores by my house.

He smirked. "But you haven't really _been_ there."

"…What?"

**Hinata**;

"Found it! Hinata, I finally found it!"

"Naruto, are you sure it's not just another book about Doctor Sweeney?"

"No, take a look!"

I sighed and straightened up, wincing and stretching. I had been crouching in front of a book case for about an hour now, on the other side of Naruto. We were looking in the science section for a new medical skills book in the public library. We had asked for assistance, but even though they said they knew the book was in the library somewhere, it was too hard to find, hence the hour-long search.

So far, Naruto had cried out to me to come running around the long bookcase and look at a book five times. He had shown me three books on some doctor named Doctor Sweeney, one book on the study of spores, and one book on foot fungus. I was somewhat doubting his research skills by now, understandably enough.

I turned a corner and walked past someone sitting on a bench, reading, and began my way back to Naruto around another corner, but then I heard him cry, "Oh, wait, never mind, Hinata! This book's on the study of microwaves and onomatopoeia! Keep looking over there, I'll keep looking over here!"

I blinked. '_What kind of book covers both microwaves and onomatopoeia…? Well, this library does have a knack for strange book collections._' I thought as I sighed and turned to walk back to the same bookcase. '_I'll never find it…_'

And that's when I spotted it.

The cover was green, just like my medical skills book, and the same title was on it, in bright yellow. And it was held in a pair of pale hands. I looked up from the pale hands and resisted the urge to turn and run flat out all the way home. Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto's roommate, was sitting there on the bench reading the book I had been searching for an hour for, and I hadn't realized it was him!

As if reading my mind, his black eyes flicked up to notice me, and he lowered the book. "You again? What are you looking at?"

I blushed hard. "Uh…" My voice cracked and I cleared my throat and licked my lips. "U-U-Umm, th-that b-book…" I cursed myself inwardly for stuttering again. What a habit…

He looked down at his book and then looked back up to me. "What about it? I'm just using it to help me out on some homework for medical skills." he said, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I-I…"

"Hinata, did you find the book yet?!" Naruto cried again.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Naruto…? Oh, you two need it." He shook his head and stood, throwing me the book carelessly. "If you need it say so earlier, yeah?"

I fumbled, catching the book sloppily. "Y-Yeah!"

He blinked as he looked at me, then his lips twitched in a smile as he turned around. "Weirdo…" he said thoughtfully, a laugh in his voice. I blushed.

"Hinata, I found it! Oh, wait…this is another one on foot fungus…Damn it!"

**TenTen**;

"The gas station is closed after eight even though they say its open twenty-four-seven, and if you go there after eight people will laugh at you for sure. The convenience store by the gas station is where Sai works, and if you know him and go there he'll usually give you two packs of gum for free. If you go to the Pizza Plaza at eight on Friday evenings with a date then it costs less and they get you to a really good table. Lee works at the gym on the weekends and plays basketball with customers, and people usually go to there just to watch his one-on-one games. The library has some of the weirdest books you'll find anywhere and the secretaries are really unorganized. At Candy's Ice-cream Shop, they let you taste test anything and have really fast service, and during the winter they serve warm foods and cakes on the weekends. What else…"

"You forgot about the art museum."

"Oh, right. The museum has world-famous art, and sometimes they let you sculpt clay. I think that's all you told me, Neji."

"Nice, I've taught you well."

I laughed. We were walking our way back to the park. Neji had taken me around Konoha giving me a short, brief tour, meanwhile telling me all about it. At first I was annoyed, but soon enough I started to get really interested. I pretended to still be annoyed, but eventually I gave in and started asking questions. I had to admit to myself that I liked everything about the place.

However, that didn't mean the place wasn't what I thought it was, because the assets that I had mentioned earlier were still part of it, and that meant I _did not_ like Konoha itself. Just some of the places in it.

"So did you give Sakura her love note yet?"

I blinked. "Oh, yeah!" I remembered back to this morning with a small smirk.

"_Morning Sakura." Ino and I greeted her as she arrived last to the porch. I noticed with a jolt that she was clutching the pink envelope from Lee in her hands, a huge smile on her face._

"_Yes, it is a good morning, girls…" she cried as we all stood and started walking._

_Ino glanced at me. I just shook my head and said nothing, and Ino shrugged. "Okay…Why so late, Sakura?"_

"_I'm sorry…My heart isn't beating fast enough, I'm afraid I've been slowed down…"_

"…_What are you talking about…?"_

"_It's been captured by love…!"_

"_Seriously, Sakura, snap out of it!" Ino shrieked, slapping Sakura's arm harshly. To both of our shock and surprise, she ignored Ino completely and kept walking along as if in a trance, looking like she was floating off the ground. Ino and I gaped and stopped walking completely as she went along in front of us. "Wh…Sakura, what's gotten into you?!" Ino screeched._

_Sakura stopped and turned around, beaming at us. "Oh Ino, TenTen, my dreams have come true! Some boy gave me a love note!" She held up the pink envelope to us happily._

_Ino blinked, then grinned. "Really?! That's amazing! Who?! Who?!"_

"_I don't know! All I know is that he declares himself to be handsome and sweet and will do anything for me! He wants to meet me next weekend! Oh, I bet he's hott and fit and hard-working…! Ahhh!" She and Ino instantly grabbed hands and jumped up and down to start a squealing session._

"_Sakura, I'm so happy for you!"_

_I stood off to the side awkwardly. "Well, you got hardworking right…"_

"_Mhm! And he's so hott sounding! Wee!" Ino cried._

"_Wait till you meet him…" I muttered._

"_Oh hush, TenTen, he's probably sexy. There's no doubt about it."_

"_Yeah, now let's hurry and get to school!"_

"_Yeah, yeah…"_

I sighed. "I tried to tell her that she would _not_ be attracted to him in any way, but she and Ino just kept screaming. Honestly, I don't get why girls have those stupid squealing sessions over boys, it's immature."

Neji laughed. "I wonder how she'll react when she meets him."

I frowned. "She'll probably be horrified. Ah, I hope she doesn't hurt his feelings...Or beat him to a pulp…"

"Is she really that violent?"

"_Yes_! She wouldn't turn my television off when I told her to so Ino tried to take the remote and she grabbed her wrist and twisted it until she promised she wouldn't try again! Ino said she does that to everyone when she's watching her Soap Operas…"

Neji chuckled. "Well, we're here. And it looks like your friends are as well." We stopped by the bench and I took my bag.

"Okay, well, bye."

"See you tomorrow." Neji said, sitting and smirking at me.

Again, I stopped and smiled. "Yup! See ya!"

"TenTen, move your butt!"

"Okay, Ino, calm down!"

**Temari**;

"Okay, is _this one_ right?" I asked hopefully, shoving my paper towards Shikamaru. So far we'd been at this for an hour. The same equation for the same formula. I'd studied it over and over again and still couldn't understand it.

Shikamaru read it over and looked up at me with a smirk. "No."

Damn bastard was actually enjoying it! I swore aloud and snatched the paper back. "Why won't you fucking teach me?!"

"Watch your mouth, princess."

"Grah, stop calling me that!" I yelled.

"Calm down, calm down. Let me see, I'll tell you what you did wrong, because you only messed up one thing."

"_What_?! Just one?!"

"Yes. You'd be surprised how one step wrong can ruin an equation. Come here."

"Oh, you're actually going to show me how to do something now? After an entire hour of work?"

"Yes, because this time you only got one wrong, and that's quite an improvement from every single step wrong. Now come here." I pouted and obeyed, scotching closer to him. He pointed at the second line of the equation. "What's twenty times thirty?"

"Five hundred…" I said, reading the paper. Shikamaru gave me a stern look and covered up the problem with his hand. I blinked and looked at his hand.

"What is twenty times thirty?" I just stared at his knuckles.

"I just said, five-"

"Look up at me." he ordered. I obeyed, and he looked straight into my eyes. "Forget what you wrote, what's twenty times thirty?"

"Five-hun…_oh_!" I took the pencil from Shikamaru's hand and turned the five to a six. "Six-hundred! So then this would be…_Oh_! Hey, I get it now!" I scribbled it down and Shikamaru leaned back, satisfied. I held it up and shoved it in his face. "Now did I get it write?!"

He looked it over, eyes scanning it as I bit my lip, and he looked up and nodded. I squealed happily, and he said, "Only because I helped you."

"What are you talking about, you just had me turn a five to a six! And before you just sat there and said 'No' for an hour!"

"Exactly. The best way to learn is to learn by mistake."

"It's the fucking hardest way too."

"Yes it is. _And_ hour's over, so we're good to go."

I blinked. "Hour's over?" Shikamaru nodded simply as he cleaned his area up, picked up his bag, and snatched the black notebook from my hands. "This notebook will show your improvement. By the time our three months of tutoring is up, you'll be interested enough to actually look inside it and see how much you've improved, and you'll be able to point out your mistakes. I'll be keeping it."

"Shouldn't I be keeping it? Why will _you_ be keeping it?"

He paused on his way out the door. "…Because to tell the truth, I'm interested in seeing how much you'll improve as well. From an idiot preppie-wanna-be, to an actual person. Quite a transformation, and that will mean one less person like you in the world. I'm looking forward to it, princess."

For once, I didn't retort, and with that, he exited the house to leave me alone with my thoughts.

**Mara**;  
I know, Shino's way OOC. This story's characters seem to get odder with every chapter. :P It's not my fault! I keep telling them 'do this!' and they're like 'no I wanna do that!' and I'm all 'okay, okay, _don't hurt me_!' XO  
**Reviews. **_They're pretty great. ;)_  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	5. A Walk

_So let the moonlit sky guide your way_

_**Oh, Hell, and No**  
__Part Five_

**Hinata**;

When Naruto finally left me at the corner of my street, my new book clutched delicately in my hands and a small smile on my face that still lingered from his exuberant personality, I found what I was looking for lying on my porch steps. '_I think I'm getting used to this._' I thought amusedly as I sat gently on the first porch step and opened the envelope, unfolding the letter.

_Hinata,_

_Hello again._

_You know, I admit, I always feel a sense of satisfaction while writing to you. It's so - how do I put this - exhilarating. It's like I'm taking a risk, but it's worth it._

_I wonder if you've felt the same before. Probably, that's a silly question to ask. Everyone's had a bit of excitement in their life. Me, I think I have a little too much. I laugh to think about it. Well, have you had any excitement today? It doesn't have to be anything big. It can be meeting a new person, receiving a grade, asking a question in front of the whole class. Those all make your heart beat faster, don't they?_

_Well, I believe that's all I have to fill in with you, besides the fact that my day went fairly well. I hope your has been just as good. Take care._

_Always,_

_Anonymous_

My smile only widened after I read this. I read it over once more, just because, and then folded it back inside it's envelope and stood. I'd put the letter in the empty bottom drawer of my desk in my bedroom, with the other two…

**TenTen**;

"Why is Ino in such a bad mood?" I asked Sakura quietly beneath my breath. The two of us were walking very closely together, watching Ino stomp in front of us, hands fisted at her sides, grumbling inaudibly under her breath. As soon as I had gotten away from Neji and over to my two friends, I had noticed her fury, how her face was scrunched up as if in an effort to stop herself from screaming very tempting words, and how she stormed away faster than Sakura and I could run.

"Why don't you ask her?" Sakura muttered, eyes glued to Ino's back warily.

"I'm afraid she'll kill me." I responded. "What happened, do you even know?"

"Yes, vaguely." Sakura said. "She was muttering things under her breath about her boyfriend…or _ex_ boyfriend."

"No…" I said, eyes widening. "He broke up with her?"

Sakura nodded, clicking her tongue. "I'm pretty sure." she said knowingly. "In fact, he looked kind of happy when he did it too, or at least that's what I could fit together from what she was saying."

"They didn't even get into a fight?" Sakura shook her head, and I raised my eyebrows. "Whew, that's definitely a danger zone for Ino, isn't it?"

"Yeah…"

We got to Ino's porch, but she suddenly slammed the door on us. We both jumped at the loud noise and stared, confused, as she stuck her head out the window, long hair swinging behind her, and yelled, "I didn't invite you in, did I?! _No_, so _stay out of my house_!" With that, she closed the window sharply and pulled down the blinds.

It was silent between me and Sakura, until Sakura said, "Well, I guess there's no Spaghetti and meatballs tonight, is there?"

**Temari**;

"Morning, Sunshine."

"Kankerou, how do you have such a happy attitude this early?" Gaara asked as I groaned and rolled over, pulling the comforter over my head to block out the sunlight that was flooding in front the window Kankerou had rudely pulled the blinds over from.

"Get out of my room!" I yelled, my voice muffled from my pillow. "Didn't I teach you a lesson?!"

"Calm down, we're just in here to tell you to get your butt out of bed and get ready for school. There's only today and tomorrow left of the week, then you can sleep in all you want for two days. But for now, get - umph!" I smirked as Kankerou swiped the pillow from his face, Gaara standing by emotionlessly, and glared at me. "Alright, we're leaving!" Kankerou said, and steered Gaara out, throwing the pillow to the ground and slamming the door behind them.

"Hah. No one messes with Temari." I said triumphantly.

**TenTen**;

The school day passed, and at long last it was time to meet Neji yet again at the park. For once, he was there before me, and as I slowly approached the bench, he heard me and turned around. I laughed a bit beneath my breath as he gave me a small wave. Today his hair was two low pony tails over his shoulders, and he was dressed in a beige and white patterned sports jacket and jeans. Today, I was a little different as well. My hair was in braids and I wore a crimson, Chinese-styled shirt with gold accents, jeans, and gold flats.

He eyed me as I walked up to him, and smirked. "Your hair's down for once."

I narrowed my eyes. "And as usual, _yours_ looks like a Drag Queens'." He only laughed, and I rolled my eyes. "So where to today?"

"My friend's place." he said, standing.

"Why there?"

"You'll see."

"Oh, a surprise again?" He just shrugged, and I sighed, but then stopped as Neji started walking. "Hold on a sec." I walked back to the bench and set my bag down, then grinned as Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like I win yet again. Sure you're not ready to give up ahead of time?"

I frowned as we started walking. "What are you talking about? I don't give up that easily. I just got tired of carrying my bag around, that's all. Besides, if it _is_ stolen, you'll have to do my homework, remember?"

"Right, about that…"

"You were crossing your fingers, weren't you?"

"…Anyways, so today-" I coughed, and he gave me a look that said, 'How rude', which only made me laugh, and he continued. "Today we're going to be walking Akamaru."

"…Aka-who?"

"Akamaru, my friend's dog."

"Oh…why are we walking him…?"

"A walk around Konoha is a perfect way to get you used to the place."

"Isn't that what the tour yesterday was for?"

"No, that was pointing out random facts about the city. Today, we're going to be _observing_. Learning and observing are two different things."

I couldn't help but giggle a bit behind my hand as Neji showed yet again how funny he really was. "Alright, I guess that's okay. I mean, how hard can walking a dog be?"

"We're here." Neji said, and we stopped in front of a small house. My eyes widened.

"Wow, that's one big Labrador…" I said, staring at the huge black dog barking loudly over the fence.

"Well, yes, that is. But that's not Akamaru, that's my friend's _neighbor's_ dog, Hershey." I blinked as Hershey slammed against the fence and Neji pulled me over next to him to stand in front of the next house. I stared, stunned, at the giant creature lying on the grassy front yard of the house Neji and I stood in front of, sleeping peacefully, his leash tied to the tree so he wouldn't get away. He was about as high as my chest, and wider than me, with shaggy white fur and beady black eyes. Neji smirked and said, "_This_ is Akamaru."

**Hinata**;

"Naruto…that's not about the formation of skin cells, that's about the formation of…foot fungus…" I said quietly, my voice filled with empathy.

"Damn it, not again! What the hell is it with me and foot fungus?!" Naruto asked furiously. "Go sit down in the living room, Hinata, I promise I'll find something on the formation of cells worth printing, I promise!"

I was leaning over Naruto's shoulder in his bedroom, watching him as he desperately typed on his compute and delved into numerous search engines, trying to find something that I could use. Evidently, things weren't going to well, even after an hour of this. But I obeyed and walked into the living room, feeling like getting some rest. I sat down on the sofa and let out a long sigh.

"We'll never find it if things keep up like this." I said quietly to myself as I heard Naruto swear loudly from the bedroom.

"Here."

I jumped in my seat, letting loose a squeaky "Eek!" and glanced up at Sasuke, holding out a paper to me, one eyebrow raised. I stared at him in shock, then at the paper, then back at him, and he groaned, scratching his head.

"You really are slow, aren't you?" he muttered. "Take it. It's on the formation of cells, I used it in a project last year at school, and since you apparently need it…" I still could barely register what was going on, and Sasuke sighed and set it gently in my lap, then backed away, hands raised, and turned on his heel, walking back into the kitchen.

"Hinata, I found it! No wait, this is a link about…God damn it, who the hell is Doctor Sweeney and what does he have to do with the formation of cells?!"

**Temari**;

I'd had a great day. Besides that failed test - tests don't matter anyways - everything was _perfect_.

First, I dumped one more bucket of ice water on my brothers' heads this morning, just to be sure they understood who they were messing with. Next, I was greeted immediately as I stepped into school by my good friends Karin, Ami, Tayuya, and Kin, and Kin had brownies to share, leftover from her huge birthday party, which was a delicious substitute for breakfast. Then, at lunch, Kabuto - a sempai of mine and completely popular - was talking to me. _Me_! And cheerleading went wonderfully, the girls completing a fantastically balanced routine including one of the hardest flips to master.

"Today is the best day ever…" I said dreamily.

"Good for you, now watch me fuck it up."

I blinked and snapped out of my daydreaming just long enough to notice a random, gigantic Chemistry book flying at me and catch it sloppily. I was sitting on the sofa in my living room, Shikamaru next to me. I'd ended cheerleading practice early because I was so proud of our mastered routine, then gotten home first, taken a shower, and waited for my lazy tutor to come, who came late with only the excuse that he had better things to do.

"What was that for?!" I yelled over my shaking arms, finally setting the book down on the coffee table and sighing, relieved.

"You weren't listening to a thing I said."

"Then say it again, dumb ass."

"I wouldn't be the one calling someone else a dumb ass if I were you, princess."

I winced, but otherwise tried to ignore the insulting nickname and settled with glaring at him with full intensity. "Just tell me what we're doing today…" I muttered.

"That's what I was saying. This troublesome book is what we're doing today." I looked at the book, confused. He sighed and lifted it up. I noticed it was even bigger than the other Chemistry book he had shown me yesterday and groaned inwardly. Either I was out of shape, or that book weighed more than fifty pounds. "College level. Eight hundred and twenty seven pages. One hundred formulas." Shikamaru said suddenly. I stared at him. "Each formula will be memorized by three months. Starting with the one you finally got yesterday."

"Eh?! But I already finished it!" I cried.

"Yes, _one problem_. And have you _memorized_ the troublesome formula yet?" I gulped and shook my head, and he smirked. "Thought so. You're going to _memorize_ these formulas, not skip around asking other people to help you out with them. I know that's what you've been _trained_ to do, and that's what all the other teachers let you do, but _I'm_ not going to let you get away with it. You're going to study for once, understand?"

I stared at him, open mouthed. "B-But…that's impossible! I'll never be able to memorize one hundred formulas! I've never _had_ to memorize even _one_ formula!"

"Well you have to, or you fail. I thought we'd made everything clear yesterday. Are you going to do your best or what?"

I bit my lip as he looked at me expectantly, then sighed. "Alright. Do your thing, teacher."

He smirked.

**TenTen**;

"Aww, I love this dog!" I was walking him along by his leash, and it was easy because he was obviously trained well. He trotted at an arms length away from your side and did not stop too much to do his business, unless he really had to. He didn't sniff at people unless they were the occasional passerby that knelt in front of him and played around for a bit.

"I told you it would be fine." Neji said, smirking. "At first I was worried you didn't like dogs."

"Nah, I love all animals." I said, smiling. "Dogs are my favorite."

He laughed. "I should have known."

"What are you implying?"

"Just that you're the type of person to like animals. It's more of a compliment than an insult, so calm down."

I laughed. "Okay, okay."

"So are you observing things?" he asked sarcastically.

I shrugged. "I guess. More like observing a huge dog, but yeah, I guess I've noticed a bit about this place."

"Such as…?"

"Well…there's a lot of trees and bushes. It's really _green_ here."

"Oh? It wasn't green in Kiri?" he asked with a sly smile.

I glared. "Well…no." I admitted reluctantly. "It was more…yellow. Like a desert. Really dry."

"What do you like better?" I glanced at him, and he held up a hand. "Answer truthfully."

I sighed. "Fine, I guess I like green better…Its more refreshing, kind of…'lush'."

"Mhm…" Neji still had that sly smile on. "What did I tell you? Konoha's better than any place you'll ever go."

"Well isn't someone modest."

"It's not like I'm bragging, I just have a lot of memories here." Neji said, shrugging. I glanced up at him. He had a sort of fondness in his eyes as he watched three children playing tag off the side of the road.

"…So where are we going now exactly…?" I asked quietly, feeling my cheeks start to heat up after looking at such a serene, sweet face.

He looked back down at me with a smile. "Oh, now we're heading back to my friend's. Couldn't tell, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm still not used to this place."

"Lucky you have me, huh?"

I laughed shyly. "Yeah, without you I would be lost by now, asking some random freak for directions."

Neji chuckled a bit. "True."

"I forgot to ask, why are we walking him instead of your friend?" I asked.

"Well, I kind of owe him some money from a while back. He called me yesterday and said he's busy today, so if I'd walk Akamaru for him my debt would be gone."

"Oh. That's nice of you."

"Not really, I just want the debt gone." We both laughed, then he said, "We're here." and he took the leash from me, tying it around the tree and patting Akamaru once on the head before heading back to the park with me.

As we walked, it was silent as I thought things over. '_So far the only thing good about this place is that it's green and not yellow. Big whoop. So far, I'm winning by a long shot._'

I got tired of the quiet and decided to ask a few things that were on my mind. "So are you ever going to tell me those 'special memories' of yours that you mentioned earlier?" I asked, looking up at him.

He smiled. "That's scheduled for another day."

"Like tomorrow?"

"Maybe. It depends on what I feel like."

"You're just making this all up as you go along, aren't you?"

"You got me." he said, snapping his fingers. I couldn't help but giggle.

'_Okay, so maybe Neji's funny and sweet and really cool and smart, but that's not a big deal._' I thought to myself as we went along, enjoying the warm air blow our hair back. '_Plenty of guys are just like him!_'

"Oh, look, there's your friends. It looks like we spent a little too much time together, huh?"

I blushed a bit, it sounded like he wanted it like that. "Yeah, yeah. Gimme my bag." I had barely noticed we were already at the park and he was sitting at the usual bench. He threw my bag at me and I caught it easily and turned around. "See ya."

"Tomorrow." he reminded me, then said, "Oh and by the way, I like your hair in braids. It suits you nicely."

As I walked away, I felt myself blush.

"H-Hi Sakura, Ino…"

"Hey TenTen, something wrong?"

"Your face is red, are you cold?"

"…Never mind…"

**Mara**;  
Haha, fun chapter. Trying to show you a bit more personality, what the three girls are like.  
OK, so school starts tomorrow…I'm scared, all my classes completely suck. Oh, and did I mention updates will be much, much, much x9milliontrillionbillion longer? No? Well, sorry to break it to you, but starting tomorrow, I am a junior in high school, and that's the hardest year of high school for a fact, I'm gonna be really busy. Wish me luck! -faints-  
Hope you liked the chapter. Even if you didn't, **reviews** are nice.  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	6. A Masterpiece

_Your dreams await you on a star not far away_

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Six_

**TenTen**;

"Alright, where to now?" I asked. The next day had gone by quickly and easily, and now I stood by the usual tree, watching Neji walk up to me and take a stop by the bench, dumping his bag there. Autumn's first breezes were rustling my clothing, a simple short sleeved, black turtle-neck shirt, a short brown skirt, and brown boots. My hair was in braids again. I tried to convince myself it had nothing to do with Neji's compliment yesterday, but it wasn't working.

"Konoha Museum." he responded simply. Today he was dressed in a white, button-up, collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top buttons undone, jeans, and brown shoes. His hair was in a high pony-tail again. Attractive as usual. I was starting to get kind of frustrated with him. Did he ever have a bad hair day, or acne, or _anything_?!

I threw my bag as we started walking. "Oh, there's a museum here?" I asked, immediately interested.

"Yes, an art museum." he said, nodding. "I go there often with some of my friends."

"You like art?"

"Yes, very much, in fact. I've said before I enjoy observing things. Art's one of the best things to watch."

I smiled. "I like art too! I wish I was an artist, but I suck at it."

He laughed. "Same here." He smiled a bit, suddenly lost in a memory. "I remember one time when I was little and I drew a bird for my father."

"That's cute."

"He thought it was a computer printer..."

**Hinata**;

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, we need a book called 'Perspectives on Contemporary Issues.' It's all blue and short and stuff. It's really small and kind of stupid, and it goes on about shit like 'Preparation for Writing Critically' and…yeah, you know what I'm talking about?"

I sighed and hid my face in my hand, and the librarian clicked her tongue. "I don't appreciate being spoken to with such careless words."

Naruto blinked and sighed. "Where have you been, lady? It's called the 'carefree language' of youth. Oh, but that's just it, I guess you wouldn't know about something like that."

"Excuse me?!"

I groaned softly into my hands, and suddenly I felt a hand pull me away. I shrieked and glanced up at the culprit who was pulling me along by the wrist through the library, away from Naruto who was soon dragged into an argument with the librarian.

"Wh-What are you-?"

"The book's over here." Sasuke interrupted me as he pulled me down an isle, his hand tight on my wrist.

"Wh-What-?"

"Just shut up and take it." he said suddenly and skidded to a halt, snatching a book from a nearby case and stuffing it in my hands.

I fumbled with it and stared. It was exactly the book I needed, a small but thick navy one with 'Perspectives on Contemporary Issues' written in white on the side, bound by a thick hard cover. I looked up at Sasuke and stared as he frowned down at me. "U-Um…why-?"

"I'm sick of you guys searching around and getting nowhere, it's annoying and pathetic. I can't stand things like that. So take it, alright?"

I stared at him for just a bit longer, then I blushed and bowed. "U-Um, thank you very much!" I said quickly. He gave me a look and suddenly he gave a short laugh and covered his mouth. I tilted my head to the side. "What…?"

"Sorry, you're just funny."

I straightened up and frowned. "How, exactly?"

He shrugged. "I guess I'm not used to someone so polite. It's amusing."

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't see how manners are amusing to you." I said as confidently as I could."

He chuckled. "Oh, _now_ you act all big-shot. Strange shift in personality."

This time it was my turn to laugh. "Well you're not exactly the person to be saying that, your personality seems to change as well."

He smiled. "That's true."

"Hinata? Hey, where'd you go?!"

I smiled a bit and turned. "I'm coming, Naruto! I found the book!"

"Oh, good! Cause I'm kind of getting kicked out of the library!"

I giggled at his childishness, then started to walk away, but Sasuke suddenly grabbed my arm. I blushed bright red and turned to him, and he looked surprised himself at his own actions. "Um…see you, then." he said shortly, looking away and dropping my arm.

I smiled. "Yes. Bye…Sasuke." I felt shy saying his name, but I walked away with a more confident feeling nonetheless.

When I got outside I met Naruto leaning against the balcony of the cement ramp outside the library. The sky was a light periwinkle blue with white clouds smeared across it like white paint against the blue canvas of a talented painter. He was looking up at the summery scene with a serene smile, but when he noticed me he turned to me and grinned. "I'm glad you got the book, Hinata! I was worried you wouldn't!"

I smiled. "I was too. Thank you, by the way, for giving your best for me. It means a lot."

He stared at me then turned red. "U-Umm…Want to come to dinner with me this Friday? Er, tomorrow?"

I blinked, then shrugged. "I think I'm free. Sure." I didn't really think he meant anything from it. Just asking me to stay for dinner on Friday. It wasn't that bad. It was the least I could do for someone so sweet. He had done so much for me. It wasn't exactly the most amazing technique to pay me back for his accident, but it's the thought that counts. And he was thinking only about me…

He beamed. "Alright! For now let's go home and look up that book that you have to order! What was it…your Global Issues book?"

"Yes, that's it."

"Okay! Let's go!"

As we walked, I started thinking about Sasuke. Why was he doing this for me? Were we really annoying, or was it something else? And why did he always seem to be in the same places Naruto and I were? It was odd. Like he was following us…

I shook my head. '_Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha…you two are really mysteries to me…_'

**Temari**;

"I don't get it, I don't get it, I don't get it!" I moaned into my hands.

"That's because you're a troublesome idiot." Shikamaru said. We were in my living room and he was teaching me some sort of crap about Algebra…or _trying_ to. He was failing miserably. More like _I_ was, but I'd never admit that to someone like him. "You sound like a broken record, calm down." Shikamaru continued. "Try thinking it through slowly instead of rushing through it." He pushed my hand with the mechanical pencil in it out of the way and pointed to the problem. "Look at that step. You did something wrong, do you know what?"

I muttered a swearword under my breath and glanced at it. "No."

"You didn't look it through thoroughly. Look at it."

I sighed and did so, pouting. "What?"

"_What did you do wrong_?" Shikamaru asked impatiently.

"I told you, I don't know!" I said, glaring at him.

"Don't look at me, look down at the troublesome problem!" he pushed my head down with a hand and kept it there. "I mean really look at it."

I obeyed, finally, and looked it through. '_Forty-nine equals three-x plus eight to the second power divided by x to the second power. Next step is the one I supposedly got wrong. God, this is so stupid! I put forty-nine equals the square root of three-x plus eight to the second power divided by x to the second power. So that would mean forty-nine equals three-x plus eight divided by x, which means forty-nine-x equals three-x plus eight! But I proved that and it doesn't work! What did I get wrong?!_' I gritted my teeth and stared, then my eyes widened. '_Of course! In the second step I forgot to get the square root of forty-nine…which is seven, so what the answer should really be is seven-x equals three-x plus eight…_' I grabbed my pencil and started editing. '_So seven-x minus three-x equals eight, which means x multiplied by seven minus three equals eight, so four x equals eight…X is two!_'

I finished the problem eagerly and proofed it, in which it turned out to be perfect, then held it up to Shikamaru excitedly. "It's correct, right?!"

He blinked and took it from me, then looked up and nodded. "Huh, that was faster than I expected."

I grinned. "Awesome, I finally get it!"

"Yeah, congratulations, you spent fifteen minutes on one problem. Down to the next one, you have fifteen more to go. Ironic, really…"

I groaned. '_This is going to take forever…_!'

"Hey, don't give me that attitude, princess. Do your work."

I glared at Shikamaru. "Excuse me?! You can't talk to me like that!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Why?" I opened my mouth to say something, but I found…I didn't know. Shikamaru, however, continued for me. "Because you're a higher social status than me? Is that why?" I still couldn't say anything. I found my mind swimming.

'_Is that…really why…?_ _Am I really…like this…?_'

It was silent as I stared at him, lost for words. Then he sighed, seeming to understand that he was overwhelming me and confusing me. "Alright, alright. Forget it. Let's move on to the next one."

As he pointed out what to do, I bit my lip and tried to concentrate, but meanwhile I was thinking, '_Am I really that…selfish…?_'

**TenTen**;

"Oh, how pretty! That's my new favorite!"

"You get a new favorite every five seconds."

"Shut up, I like this one he best!" I snapped. We were standing in front of a tall sculpture of a glass swan, it's head bowed elegantly against it's smooth, clear wing which stretched out over our heads. We had been let in for free by Neji's friends Deidara and Tobi. They were supposedly engaged, which I found adorable because Tobi was the cutest thing I'd ever seen and Deidara was probably the nicest person I'd ever met. When we left them I'd started a rant about cute gay boys before Neji told me it was getting him kind of uncomfortable and I dropped it with a giggle, where our conversation turned to a short new one about how much I loved his friends.

"Hmm…I know something you'd probably like, TenTen." Neji said suddenly when we walked on from the swan to some more glass sculptures.

"What's that?" I asked distractedly.

"Follow me." He suddenly turned and walked into the next room, and I followed him, our footsteps echoing against the glass halls. Some small children walked past with their parents, oh-ing and ah-ing, and I got distracted again, watching them, but suddenly Neji said, "TenTen, we're here."

I looked up and beamed. Weapons, of all shapes and sizes and makers and types, were lined against the walls of a crimson and gold, dimly lit hall that ended at a dead-end a ways down, stacked in shelves of glass cases and on hooks and hangers. I felt my eyes sparkle. "Okay, that swan was my favorite exhibit, _this_ is my favorite _room_."

"Oh, now your favorites have categories?" Neji asked with a chuckle as we walked down the hall. It was empty at the moment except for us, and as we walked I asked, "How did you know I liked weapons?"

"You seemed the type." he said, shrugging.

"I used to collect them with my friend back home! I love all kinds of them, because weapons have the most history. It's so great to research about their origin, who made them, what they were used for…"

"DO you recognize any in here?"

"Mhm! Almost all of them!"

"How about this one?" Neji stopped and pointed to a small dagger with a black-lacquered handle and matching scabbard.

I nodded. "That's a Kaiken. You've heard of it, right?"

Neji furrowed his brown in concentration, then blinked. "Oh yeah, those things that women carry at weddings for good luck."

"Yup! It used to be carried by the Samurai class for self defense when you couldn't have a Katana or Wakizashi."

"Wakizashi? I've heard of that too…is it in here?" Neji asked interestedly.

"I'd be surprised if they didn't, it's really important history…" I said, scanning the room. I finally found it and grinned, pointing to the far wall where two thin blades were mounted in a glass case. "Common samurai weapons."

"Yeah, we learned all about them in school. They're almost as important as the Katana and the tanto."

"Yup…Hey, what's that…?" I blinked and walked forward to the dead end wall and stopped in front of it.

Two beautiful crimson scrolls were laid against the wall, swirling in complicated designs around it and circling each other up to the ceiling. On the description below it said it was a display called 'Twin Rising Dragons'. I gazed up at it and smiled.

"Like it?" Neji asked, suddenly standing next to me. I nodded slowly, still not taking my eyes away from it, and he laughed. "I thought you would. I guess I really know you well enough, don't I?"

I laughed as well, then sighed and said, "Okay, I lied. _This_ is my favorite…"

**Hinata**;

_Hinata,_

_I apologize for not leaving you a letter yesterday. I was very busy__. I didn't even have time to do my daily chores. I'm also sorry if this letter seems rushed, but I have to hurry this up before my mom comes home and finds me skipping out of my homework. Geometry is so tedious sometimes. But that reminds me; I lost my stupid Chemistry homework this morning. It was awful, I was searching all over for it and couldn't find it anywhere._

_Ever had that happen to you? Doesn't have to be homework, it could be a book or jewelry or a friend's contact lens. Ah, look at me, now I'm laughing at how stupid that sounds. Of course you've had that happen before. It happens to everyone, losing things. You're not any special exception._

_I'm not saying that as an insult, it's more of a compliment. You're not some goddess that everyone has to look up to and awe at. You're a person. You should be treated equally. Even if you are an exceptional one, you're still a human being. I'm sure you get sick of people acting like a rich pig just because of your family._

_Let me promise to you right now that I'd never do that to you. Treat you like an outcast because you're better than me. Sure, you're better than me. So what? You're still someone that needs attention once in a while._

_Well, enough of my rambling. I look forward to writing again tomorrow. Someday, I promise, I will talk to you in person._

_Always,_

_Anonymous_

I blushed and folded the letter inside the envelope again, standing and walking inside. Naruto had walked me home early because he heard my stomach growl and insisted I go home and make dinner and we finish our business tomorrow, being the considerate person he was, so I was here before Neji. I walked into my small bedroom and slipped the envelope into the bottom drawer of my desk with the other three.

I smiled a bit and leaned against the desk, sliding to the floor. '_How much of my life has changed in how short of a time…_?'

**Temari**;

"It's done!" I yelled in relief, shoving the notebook in Shikamaru's face. He blinked and took it, then nodded slowly.

"Mmm…Looks like it." he said. "You did it all right, except at the end a small-"

"Yeah, the multiplications whacked, I didn't think it would matter though, cause I got the gist of it, right?"

"True. Well, looks like I can go home, then." Shikamaru stood and stretched, and I found myself staring.

'_Whoa…since when does he have a six-pack…?_' I thought, staring at his abs as he shamelessly exposed his rock-hard stomach that his tight black shirt showed off. '_And since when are his half-lidded eyes so appealing…?_' I added as an afterthought, noticing the way his eyes closed sleepily. '_He's almost…_' His eyes opened and he glanced at me, and I blushed. '_…sexy…_'

"What?"

"Nothing! Get out of my house, lazy-ass!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay…? Preppies are pretty weird sometimes…"

"Shut it! I am not a preppie, you emo-nerd! I don't stereotype, I'm more mature than that!"

"Then why did you just stereotype me?"

"I didn't!"

"Emo-nerd?" I blinked and stared at my knees. That was right…I _had_ just called him that. He rolled his eyes as he collected his things. "You contradict yourself too much. If you say something, mean it. Think before you open your big mouth."

"Oh shut up!"

He laughed a bit. "Later, princess."

And with that, he walked away. When he closed the door, I groaned and slumped onto my back on the sofa, covering my face with a pillow, saying 'Stupid!' three times in a row, just to satisfy the frustration in myself. "Why is that lazy-ass confusing me so much?! He's supposed to do that opposite!" I shouted, my voice muffled by the pillow.

I took the pillow away from my face and stared at the ceiling. Against the white paint, I saw my face, grinning away as I cheered for the hottest, buffest boys in the football field. I saw my face, sneering at the boys who could never have me and the girls who could never be me. I saw my face, absolutely perfect and flawless in every way. I closed my eyes, suddenly hating that face.

"…Am I really…like this…?"

**TenTen**;

"Urgh, why are they so late?!" I snapped. I was sitting next to Neji on the usual bench across from my usual tree, my bag on my lap, the two of us waiting for our friends. Neji's friends were now on their way over, and Neji said they usually came right after my friends came to pick me up. So why was it different today?!

"Calm down, I'm sure they're coming soon." Neji said simply as Sai and Lee walked over with big grins on their faces at the sight of me. When I still didn't cheer up he said, "What's the matter, afraid of Sai and Lee?"

"Eh? No, not them, I said I liked them remember? I'm just wondering what's taking them so long. I hope nothing happened to them…"

"TenTen-chan! I must speak with you right away!" Lee cried as soon as he walked up to me with Sai, who waved at me cheerfully.

I sighed. "If you're wondering about Sakura's reaction, I'm not going to tell you."

"What?! Why not?!"

"Because that would ruin everything for you, wouldn't it?" I said. "The whole point of a name-less romance is to appreciate someone even though you can't completely communicate. If I told you everything she said, all the secrets would be out!"

Everyone was silent for a while, then Neji and Sai started snickering. "Wow, you really are a girl." Sai said.

"I had no idea such logic existed, TenTen." Neji added.

I glared at both of them and they stopped, still grinning, as Lee gasped and nodded. "Of course! Thank you, TenTen-chan, for saving my relationship just a while longer! You are truly a kind, thoughtful, considerate person!"

I laughed a bit and nodded. "You're welcome." I looked up and smiled. "Ah, here they are now."

"TenTen! Come on, hurry up! It's your turn to make dinner today, and you're _not_ gonna burn anything this time!" Sakura called as Ino waved.

Sai's eyebrows raised. "Ino Yamanaka, right…?" he asked slowly, looking interesting. I glanced sideways at Lee as I stood and saw him gazing at Sakura, his eyes full of fondness. Sakura, fortunately, was turning to Ino, the two in another argument.

I smiled a bit. '_Wow, those two really care about my friends. I like them._' I thought, then sighed when Ino hit Sakura on the head lightly and started walking away, earning Sakura to run after her furiously.

"Ugh…Alright, I'm gonna go break them up…Bye."

"See you tomorrow." Neji called after me, and I grinned.

"Yup! See you!"

**Mara**;

OMG! I actually updated! LOL, so sorry. But ever since school started I've had less and less time on the computer. Ah, well, at least I'm studying, right? I'm doing my best this year, and it's paying off, cause so far I'm acing all my tests! :D  
Reviews are pretty great!  
_thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx_


	7. A Smile

_Search and find your way_

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Seven_

**TenTen**;

Why was it all so green?

'Life' was not as colorful in Kiri. All you could see were endless fields of tall yellow and brown corn and wheat and straw. The grass was dead and dry. Everything was hott and stuffy, humidity's finest blows ever given. Even with all the childhood memories and family members and friends…I had to admit that the childhood memories were all pretty awful, my family was bland beyond reasoning, and I only had about one friend that I didn't even remember or write to. This place I called home was…

"…Boring…" I said quietly, out loud. It was the next day, after school, and I was waiting for Neji to show up, leaning against the tree. I sighed and opened my eyes. Today my hair was in a high pony tail and I wore a long sleeved low cut crimson shirt with gold trim and dark grey jeans tucked into knee-high brown boots.

'Life' was so different here, now that Neji had forced me to observe everything so much. Trees, everywhere. Tall, with rough brown bark, stretching to something no one knew, but what they seemed to know so much that they were desperate to reach it, twigs waving to the clouds in the pleasant lukewarm breeze that pushed the waxy green leaves together in a steady tattoo. Animals, like birds, squirrels, rabbits, skunks, and even the occasional domesticated dog or cat on their way back home or on a walk with their masters could be spotted among the scrubs and bushes and endless yards and houses that were planted on pure, green, moisturized grass. Children, teenagers, and adults of all generations, seemed to go along by a certain system that they loved. They seemed to know their place in life, they seemed to see their destiny, their fate, right in front of their eyes, however they knew it wasn't something that was paved for them specifically, something that they walked along and created themselves.

'_I wish I was that lucky._'

"Afternoon." Neji greeted me suddenly from my left. I glanced up at him. Today my drag queen was dressed in a dark grey shirt with the words, '_Love, Hate, and In-Between_' written in faded white and black letters, sagging jeans with a black and white studded belt not holding anything up as if just there for decoration, and grey converse. His hair was yet again in a different style, this time in a not-so-high pony tail, beginning at the nape of his neck and falling down his back.

I gave him a small smile and shifted my bag onto my shoulder before throwing it onto the bench. "So what's on the list?" I asked with a joke in my voice as he started walking and I hurried to walk by his side.

He looked down at me and smirked. "So you guessed?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"We're grocery shopping."

**Temari**;

"Temari! Hey, when can I get down?!"

I ignored Ami's constant screeching that annoyed me to no end, trying to think as I bent over the workbook Shikamaru had handed wordlessly to me that morning. He'd stuck a note inside that read, 'Study this, it'll help for today. I'm not supposed to give you the troublesome thing, so keep your big mouth shut.' in scrawled handwriting.

For some reason, instead of getting angry at the insult, the whole character of the little crumpled note and bad handwriting overall just made me laugh more than anything. I'd decided to obey. I didn't want to fail. I wanted to go to college and get a good job, have a good life. If I wanted that, I'd have to do what my teacher said. And for now, Shikamaru was helping me do that. So here I was, cheating off of this little workbook. It really did break down all the formulas and proofing well. It made calculus seem as simple as easy crap like scientific notation!

"Temari! Temari, I've been standing on the top of this pyramid like this forever! Are you listening?!"

I turned a page with one hand and waved another at the direction I thought the pyramid of girls was. "Uh huh." I called in an absentminded mumbling yell with a careless flap of my hand.

"Temari! You're _not_ listening after all! What are you doing?! Hey! _Hey_! _Temari_! I'm gonna-WAH!"

There was a loud thump and a few girlish squeals, and I glanced up in surprise and had to swallow my laughs before setting down the workbook and running over to the clump of my cheerleaders circled around Ami on the ground, who got up, grass staining the back of her thighs, and glared at me.

"What was that for?!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Excuse me, Ami, I'm your captain. Even if you are my friend, I don't appreciate being spoken to that way."

All the girls gasped, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I covered my mouth with my hand, thinking what I'd just said over as Karin whispered, "Harsh." under her breath.

'_I've never spoken like that to anyone from the cheerleading squad before. Especially not my friends._' I thought as Ami stared at me, surprised. '_What's gotten over me? Maybe I'm getting it from those cheerleading captains in movies that scream at their girls and work them really hard…_'

That gave me an idea.

"Hee-hee! Got you!" I said, giggling. All the girls laughed knowingly and helped a relieved-looking Ami recover.

For some reason, when I walked back to the bench to order them in a high-pitched voice, everything felt forced and…so sweet that I made myself sick…

**Hinata**;

"Hi Hinata! How was your day at school?"

I smiled brightly at Naruto. Today I was in an even better mood than usual. My long hair was in a high pony tail and I wore a pink jacket, a black turtle neck shirt underneath, jean capris, and black flats. "It was nice." I told the blonde happily. He himself was wearing a long sleeved white shirt with blue sleeves, baggy jeans, and black converse. We had just met up in front of school and now we were on our ways to his house. The sun glittered down at us, reflecting off the white cement and rocks of the sidewalk. Cars sped down the street, windows glaring.

"That's great! So you remember about today, right?" Naruto asked as we walked.

"Of course, how could I forget?" I asked with a small laugh in my voice.

He chuckled. "Course you wouldn't! Okay, so what do you need today?"

"Well, I've noticed I've been at a loss for pencils and materials such as those…" I said, putting a finger to my chin. I noticed Naruto staring at me suddenly, his eyes glazed over.

"Um…Naruto…? Is something wrong…?" I asked shyly.

He stiffened, startled, then turned red. "O-Oh, u-um, I'm sorry, I was just…um…"

I giggled. "Really, what is it?"

He sighed and looked away. "You just look kinda cute today…" he muttered quietly.

I let what he said sink in and blushed. "Th-Thank…you…?"

He shook his head. "Well…what were you saying? Something about…um…?"

I giggled, trying to forget the compliment, even though I was shocked. No one had ever said something like that to me. Not that I'd ever spoken like this to someone besides my brother Neji so much.

"I need pencils and pens, and a scientific calculator for Calculus and Chemistry…and of course lots of binders and notebooks and paper…"

"Stationary store it is!"

**Temari**;

"Good job, everyone!" I said, waving as I left the locker room, dressed out of my cheerleading uniform and in a tight violet tee, jeans, and white sneakers. For some reason I felt like dressing in jeans instead of short skirts or preppie sweats that day. There was a chant of goodbye's and good-jobs in return before I cut them off by closing the door quickly. Their voices were so girly! It was weird; I'd never noticed how creepy it was before. Like a cult!

I sighed and slumped against the door, closing my eyes. "What's wrong with me…?"

"Do we have to count the ways, princess?"

I jumped, startled, and my eyes snapped open to see Shikamaru, standing in front of me. He was dressed in a black turtle neck sweater, jeans with a chain hanging down the left leg from the pocket, black Vans, and a white and lime green studded belt.

'_God damn it, why's he suddenly so…never mind, I can't say it…_'

"What, you've got no comeback?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in a cool fashion.

'_So hott…!...Wait, I said it…God damn it! Get a hold of yourself, Temari!_'

"Shut your mouth, lazy ass!" I snapped, recovering quickly.

He smirked a bit. "Now there's the princess I know." I grinned a bit in spite of myself as he turned away, and he continued. "Alright, let's move. I wanna get to your castle and get this over with then go home and sleep."

"Is that all you do, is sleep?!" I demanded as we started walking.

He just shrugged and scratched the back of his head. I huffed and faced forward, and that's when he started yet another conversation.

"What were you talking about back there anyways?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was walking over because I thought it would be better if you didn't have to catch up to me and my troublesome friends, and I heard you ask yourself what's wrong with you. Something happen?"

"Pfft. Why would you care?"

"I need you completely focused on your work." The way he said that sentence, it was as if he was only trying to convince himself.

I shrugged it off. "It's nothing."

"Sure you're not getting sick of your petty little squad of royal gardeners?" My eyes widened. He smirked, and I felt my heart rate increase. My sub-consciousness started urging me to stop him, but for some reason I couldn't…"I thought so. So you're finally seeing them for who they are, huh?" I still couldn't say anything, but I felt myself get angry. _Really_ angry. And he didn't stop there. He only made it worse. "Selfish, campy little anorexic chicks that don't give a shit for anything but their own hair and makeup and sex. That's what they are. And you finally get it. A little slow on the uptake, aren't you? But finally you're starting to change, huh?"

"Sh…Shut your mouth!" He blinked in surprise as I glared at him furiously, stopping in my tracks. He stopped as well, the two of us facing each other defensively. "If you don't have any proof or justification behind your words, don't be a dumbass and blurt out whatever you feel like. You don't know what you're talking about!" He just stared at me, and I let out a frustrated yell. "I'm so sick of you!" With that, I stormed away ahead of him.

But inside, I felt horrified. '_Why does he know everything about me…?! It's…it's impossible…! No one's that smart!_'

"…Sorry…"

I stopped yet again and turned in surprise. Shikamaru stood there, hands in his pockets, turned away from me with a small frown on his face.

"…What…?" I asked lamely.

"Aw come on, don't make me say it again." he said, exasperated. "You heard me!"

"…I don't get it." I admitted, confused.

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, glancing upwards at the clouds quickly. "Geeze…I apologized because what I said, no matter how true it might have been, was uncalled for and it obviously frustrated you. I have no right to make you feel like that. So…yeah." he finished somewhat lamely.

I blinked. "Um…" I wasn't registering it. First he'd crushed my life in the palm of his hand, now…he made me feel so relieved and..._comfortable_.

He sighed. "It's okay, you don't' have to say anything. Let's just forget about all of that, alright?"

I nodded slowly and started walking again, seeing from the corner of my eye Shikamaru catch up to my eventually. I glanced sideways at him and after a while, seeing his cool, hooded eyes staring unfocused in front of him, his concentrated frown, I couldn't help but smile a bit. I looked forward as well.

"It's gonna get cold soon, isn't it?"

"Yeah, feels like it…"

**TenTen**;

"I assume you haven't been to the grocery store yet." Neji said as we walked through a small isle of the grocery store, our shoes echoing with millions of others' and mixing with their voices on the linoleum floors and walls, stretching the high ceiling lamps and fans and monitors. Konoha's grocery store was just like every other I'd been to. But for some reason it had a bit of a cozy feeling to it.

"No, I packed enough that I don't need to yet." I said as we walked along.

"Good thing I showed you where it was already, but just in case you forgot…"

"Is that why we're here?"

"No, I seriously need to get some groceries."

"Why kind of guy gets groceries?! Are you gay after all?"

"I'm not gay! I'm just responsible. It's my job, after all."

"What about your parents?"

"Dead."

I stopped walking altogether. '_I…I had no idea! He never gave a clue about it before, and now he just bluntly says it…?!_'

"Oh…Uh…" I bit my lip as he continued walking without me, then hurried to catch up with him. "I'm sorry I brought it up…"

To my relief, he gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm used to it. You couldn't have known."

"How long have you been an orphan?"

"Since I was four."

"…Wow…"

"I'm alright, though. I live now with my younger sister…well, cousin, but I call her my sister. Her name's Hinata."

" 'A place in the sun'? Huh, I didn't know you had a sister."

"Yeah. Oh, I have a picture of her in my wallet if you want to see, it's the most recent one I have from a year ago." He suddenly removed a small photo from his pocket wallet and flashed it to me.

I beamed. "Aww! She's so cute!"

He laughed as he put it away. "Yes, and she's very shy. I care about her a lot; she's truly the only member of my family that I adore any more."

I smiled. "That's really sweet, Neji…" He blinked and I noticed the blush on his cheeks and blushed myself, changing the subject quickly. "U-Um, so what are we supposed to be getting then?"

"Do you need anything?"

"I don't have any money on me or anything right now."

"I do."

"…Yeah, I kinda figured that when I saw your wallet." I muttered. '_Wow, way to make me feel better about that fact…stupid bragging-_'

Neji cut off my thoughts by laughing loudly. "TenTen, I'm not trying to brag. I'm saying I'll pay for anything you want."

"…Eh?! No way, I can't let you do that, I'd feel terrible!" I cried, shaking my head and holding my hands up.

He smiled a bit. "Okay, just offering. Well, let's see what Hinata needs." He pulled a small list out of his jeans pocket and scanned it. "Not much. So let's get going."

**Hinata**;

"Why's it so damn expensive…?! Crap!" Naruto hissed as he stared at all my, hopefully, supplies on the counter of the cash register. I sighed.

"Naruto-kun, you don't have to pay for it entirely by yourself. I can pitch in."

"No, no, I can't make you do that! I'll just…give up my lunch…for the next three weeks…" Naruto swallowed hard and winced as he handed the stack of bills to the annoyed looking cashier of the stationary store.

"Naruto, you didn't need to-!"

"Hinata, it's my fault that everything happened to you!" Naruto suddenly said, putting his hands on my shoulders suddenly, a determined look in his eyes. "I promised you that I'd help you out. And I _never_ go back on my word."

I stared at him and blushed a bit. "Naruto…Thank you…" He smiled, the look on his face as relieved as if he was a criminal and an angel had just blessed him.

"Are you two _done_?" the cashier asked loudly, and Naruto let go of me.

He quickly snatched a plastic bag from the hanger on the counter and packed everything sloppily into it. I winced as he threw the scientific calculator into the bag carelessly and there was a loud thunk. '_That was so expensive…_'

"Alright! Here you go, Hinata! I'm sure we got everything!" Naruto said as he handed the bag to me, then grinned. "Are you hungry yet?"

I blushed and giggled. "A little…"

"Then…change of plans! I'll take you out for dinner _now_, since we finished today's business up early! Where do you wanna go?!"

I bit my lip thoughtfully. "I don't really know…Why don't you decide?"

"How about a ramen stand? I _love_ ramen, it's _so_ good!"

I giggled. "Ramen it is, then."

"Okay, let's go right now!" Without warning, he took my hand and pulled me along next to him.

I smiled.

'_His hand feels warm…_'

**Temari**;

I felt my eyebrow twitch in irritation as Shikamaru ignored yet another request to look at my math paper. And it wasn't in childishness or just being a jackass. He was lounging against the arm of my sofa, eyes closed, listening to his ipod.

"That is _it_." I muttered, and I quickly leaned over and snatched the headphones from his ears, gathering them and the ipod and pulling them over to set them next to me.

Shikamaru's eyes flickered open and he blinked at me. "What the hell? Give my ipod back."

"No! You're supposed to be teaching me, not being a dick and ignoring me and listening to your stupid music! I'm holding your ipod hostage till you're done! I keep asking you to look at my paper _just once_, and you're fucking ignoring me! What is your _problem_?!"

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily, covering his yawn with a hand. "What are you talking about? There's no rule against listening to music. You were busy with a problem."

I groaned. "I want you to help me!" I said finally, putting my hands to my head. "But I guess you're just too much of a lazy ass, aren't you?! Maybe I should just give up!" I put my hands on my lap and stared at them, feeling angry and frustrated and hopeless.

After a while Shikamaru said, "Alright…Sorry, princess." I blinked and looked up at him, frowning at his shoulder, his head turned away. "That's two times today…I guess I should just help you out from now on, I mean, it is my troublesome job after all. So I won't be an ass." He turned to me. "If you'll put as much effort into it as I will, of course."

I couldn't help myself. I smiled at him. "Course I will." His eyes widened a bit, and his lips slowly curved into a small smile of his own. His eyes were lowered a bit, and I found myself growing uneasy as he stared at me, a fond expression on his face. "Um…What…?"

"I've never seen it before…" he said absentmindedly.

"…Seen what…?"

"Your smile…" he said softly. "You…" Suddenly he seemed to realize what he was saying and coughed as I felt my cheeks burn. Shikamaru turned away immediately, seeming just as embarrassed as I felt. "Uh…Well, show me what you've got already."

I laughed a bit and obeyed without question.

'_Well, looks like it's a truce then, Shikamaru._' I thought, watching him as he looked it over. '_I don't particularly…mind it...either…_'

**Mara**;  
I'm still alive! Life...! LOL, I am so uber sorry about the late updates. School is a nightmare. :P I hope you enjoyed the chapter. _**R**_e_v_i_**e**_w_s_ are always nice. oh yes…  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	8. A Kiss

_Autumn leaves usher in cooler days_

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Eight_

**TenTen**;

"Wow, you guys sure don't over shop, do you?"

"We can't afford to spend too much, living by ourselves."

"True. I know how you feel." I said with a small laugh. Neji and I were at his house, and he'd finished putting away all his groceries. He sighed, stuffing the grocery bags in the recycling bin, and leaned against a counter. He looked up at me and watched me for a bit, making me uncomfortable.

"What?"

"Nothing."

The door bell rang, and he stood and raised an eyebrow. "Huh, who could that be…?" he muttered. I followed him out into his living room. He opened the door and immediately Sai and Lee bounded inside, wide grins on their faces.

"Yo!" Sai said happily.

"Neji-kun! Nice to see you!"

"Um, nice to see you guys too…May I ask what the hell you're doing here instead of at basketball practice?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dude, you'll never guess-Hey, TenTen's here?" Sai glanced at me.

I smiled at waved, and Lee beamed. "TenTen-chan! It is nice to see you as well!"

I laughed. "Calm down, you guys are gonna have a heart attack."

"Well, we have reason to have one! We made it to the national competition!" Sai cried.

"Wait, you made it?!" Neji asked, immediately perking up. "Seriously?!"

"Yes, Neji-kun, seriously! We got the news today from coach, and we wanted to tell you first! Isn't it awesome?!" Lee shouted.

"That's great!" Neji said.

I stared at Neji as he grinned at his friends, patting them on the back and nodding as they talked ecstatically. He looked so happy. I couldn't help but smile, my heart feeling a little lighter inside of my chest than usual. '_I don't think I've ever seen him smile like that before. He really is thoughtful. He cares about so many things so much…_'

"Oh crap, we gotta go! We promised coach we'd run back and help clean up the gym. See ya later, Neji! You too, TenTen!"

"Good bye!"

Lee and Sai left in a flash, and Neji waved after them out the door. He caught my eye and turned around, smiling back at me. "Sorry, TenTen, you're probably confused, right?"

"Just a little." I said with a laugh. "They kind of came in here and left in less than three minutes."

He laughed as well. "Yeah, that's them…" He sighed. "Well, we'd better get to the park, your friends are probably on their way there."

"Okay." We left and began our walk to the park. "So are you gonna tell me what that was all about?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Oh, yeah. Well, it's been Lee and Sai's dream for their basketball team to make it to the national basketball competition for a long time, but they never thought it would actually happen. I'm really excited for them. They're great people, and they finally got what they wanted."

I smiled. "You really like your friends, don't you?" I asked quietly.

He smirked. "Well, wouldn't you feel the same way for your friends if they achieved something like that?"

I nodded happily. "Yup!"

**Hinata**;

"I had a great time, Naruto, I promise." I said with a giggle as we stopped in front of my house. We were on our way back from a momentous dinner. We had gone to an outdoor ramen stand and Naruto had ordered for me, paying for my dinner. It seemed the man there, Ichiraku, knew Naruto very well, and gave him a discount. He seemed happy that Naruto had gotten a date for the night, something Naruto pouted about, making me laugh. They were very nice there, and it really was a nice night, despite the fact that Naruto was obviously obsessed with ramen.

Naruto looked relieved. "That's good…I was just worried-"

"Naruto, you don't have to worry. I've never been treated so nicely by anyone before, I can assure you. Thank you very much." I said sweetly.

Naruto smiled. "You're welcome…" He looked at the sky, darkening, then back to me and his eyes sparkled. "Well…Good night…" he said quietly.

That's when it happened.

I could hardly register what was happening. One moment he was gazing into my eyes, next he had leaned in and I felt a tingling feeling rushing through my body from my lips as Naruto pressed his own to them, eyes closing. My own eyes widened and I blushed, but I didn't do anything, just stood there and let him kiss me. And a second later, he was gone.

I stood still in the middle of the sidewalk, staring after him, my mind swimming. I put my fingers delicately to my lips.

'_What…was that…?_'

**Temari**;

"What the hell…?" Shikamaru and I said at the same time.

It was the next morning before school. Today, I was feeling a lot stranger than usual, so my hair was down and I wore jeans, a tight dark grey shirt with sleeves that went down to the elbows and a black skull on the right shoulder, and black Vans. Where did I get these clothes? I had an entire wardrobe full of gothic type clothing from my brothers, gifts for past birthdays and holidays that were basically jokes, but what I was suddenly taking advantage of. I didn't know why, I just felt like a different outfit today.

I was walking away from my car, tired after waking up with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that I could not shake, and I had ran into someone, both of us stumbling backwards. Turns out it was Shikamaru Nara himself. Lucky Gaara and Kankerou had gone on ahead.

I glared. "Watch where you're going, would you?!"

"_Me_? You're the one that ran into me, troublesome woman." Shikamaru muttered. I looked him over and bit my lip. Today he was dressed in a black, short-sleeved turtle neck shirt with a green vest over it, jeans, and green converse. For some reason he just got cooler and cooler every day…He blinked and looked closely at me. "Hey, what's wrong…? You look kind of…I dunno, out of it."

I shook my head quickly. "It's nothing, forget it."

He straightened up and shrugged. "Okay, then. Well, we'd better head inside before we're late." He yawned and stretched a bit as he started walking, arms crossed behind his head for a bit. I watched him and laughed, catching up. He heard and glanced at me. "What's so funny?"

"You." I said teasingly. "You're always so tired, how much sleep do you get?"

"Enough."

I laughed again. "Lazy ass!"

He laughed a bit as well as we walked into school, both of us watching each other going along down the halls.

"Temari! Temari! Temari!"

I winced when Kin grabbed my arm and started pulling me backwards down the hall. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and chuckled. I sighed. "See you later then!" I called after him, and he waved and walked away, making me smile a bit. Inside, I was fan girl-ing: '_He is so cool!_'

I sighed a bit, shaking myself from that state of mind as Kin kept yanking me down the hall. "Kin, can you stop pulling me?!" I snapped.

"Temari! Temari! Temari!"

I groaned as Karin and Ami ran up to me as well. They pulled me off into a nearby doorway immediately, cornering me and finally dropping my aching arm. "_What_?" I asked impatiently.

"Alright, we wanna know and we wanna know now!" Kin snapped, flinging her long black hair over her shoulder.

"Okay, I have no idea what you're going on about." I said, raising an eyebrow, straightening up comfortably and looking around. "By the way, where's Tayuya."

"She's late today, but that doesn't matter!" Karin cried. "What's wrong with you?! That's what we wanna know!"

"What do you mean what's wrong with-?"

"Don't act like you don't know, Temari." Ami snapped. "Look at you! You're outfit is…_hideous_, and your hair looks like you're not even using that Bumble and Bumble shampoo I bought you! And what's worse, you've been hanging around that _Shikamaru_ way too much!"

"So what? He's my tutor."

"Yes, Temari, your _tutor_! The one you're supposed to hate! But now you're walking up to school with him as if you're a couple or something! Smiling and making goo-goo eyes! What's _wrong_ with you?!" Kin screeched.

I blinked. "You guys said yourselves he's cool…What happened to that…?"

"Okay, okay, so he's cool. That doesn't mean someone like _you_ should be hanging around someone like _him_ as close as best friends! Get over yourself!" Ami cried.

I narrowed my eyes. "You guys are supposed to be my friends, not my counselors. I don't know what you're insinuating about Shikamaru, but whatever it is you're wrong. He's cool. He's smart. He's good-looking. He's nice." I blinked. "…_I_ was wrong too…"

Karin, Ami and Kin stared at me. "Temari…" Karin said quietly.

Ami and Kin both huffed and stalked away, but Karin stayed, staring at me. I glared at her. "What? Are you gonna bitch about me too?" I asked, feeling unnaturally angry.

But to my surprise, Karin seemed sad, looking away. "Just admit that you like him." she said quietly. I blinked in surprise, and she continued. "No, not like…Nothing else could change you like this…"

"…What do you mean…?" I asked, feeling suddenly very scared.

She looked up at me again. "_Love_." she said simply.

My heart seemed to stop. "L…Leave me alone." I whispered, pushing past my friend. She just stayed still and watched after me, much wiser than before…

**Hinata**;

I fingered the letter from Anonymous on my lap, smoothed over my lavender skirt that was tucked under my pink sweater. Beneath that I wore knee-high brown boots, and there was a thin purple and white striped scarf around my neck. The last class of the day was almost over. That would mean I'd finally see Naruto.

I couldn't get over what had happened last night. I felt scared. Terrified, even. Scared to see Naruto. After that kiss, what would we think of each other…?

The bell rang, and I stood, folding the note in my bag, walking out of the classroom, through the halls, and outside. The note was just so reassuring to me, it made things better. Well, Anonymous himself made things better. He could always be used a source of insight, making me know that someone was out there that understood and cared about me. Watching me always…

"Hey, you…"

I jumped a bit and turned around quickly to see none other than Sasuke walking over to me. I stopped and so did he. "Hinata, right?" he asked.

I nodded slowly. "…Sasuke?"

"That's me." He looked me over, hands in the pockets of his jeans that hung low under his black sweatshirt. He looked a little uneasy and quickly looked away. "I'm here cause the idiot's sick."

"The idiot…?" I asked, confused. "Oh, you mean Naruto?"

"Yeah. He caught something really bad. He told me to help you out for him, so…well…"

I frowned. "Well that's rude."

He looked up at me and blinked. "Huh?"

"You didn't have to call Naruto an idiot. He may not be the brightest, but…he's very nice and he means well."

Sasuke stared at me and chuckled, breaking out of his emotionless state. "Yeah, yeah, I know that. Haha, you're really the strangest person sometimes."

I smiled. "Well you are as well."

He stopped laughing and sighed. "Alright, then, what do I have to help you out on?"

I smirked. For some reason, I felt like this would be a lot of fun.

**TenTen**;

"…You took me to see my friends…?" I asked Neji between Ino and Sakura's arms. We stood in a small mirrored room in the back of the school with bars on the walls and a large stereo system in the corner. Sakura and Ino were both hugging me from the sides, ecstatic that I'd come to see them dance.

Neji laughed, looking a little proud of himself. "I just wanted you to see the dancers. I knew you were interested in dancing, so I thought you'd like this." Today Neji's hair was in a long braid down his back, the bangs let loose to frame his face attractively, and he wore a white shirt with the words 'Dazzle Me' in random neon colors on the front, jeans with a large rip in the right knee covered by a neon green patch, and black converse. I couldn't help but think '_He is so cute!_'.

I myself wore my hair in wavy, chest-length, low pigtails and I was dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt with three grey diamonds going over it that ended low over a short black skirt, thigh-high grey socks, and knee-high black boots. I was still a little self-conscious about how I was dressed because Neji told me earlier that I looked particularly cute today.

"Your boyfriend is so thoughtful, TenTen!" Ino cried as she and Sakura straightened up, dressed themselves in their sweats that they used for dancing class.

"Boyfriend?!" Neji and I both sputtered suddenly.

Sakura smirked slyly. "Well you _are_ going out, right?"

"Or are you not?" Ino asked.

"No! Yes! Wait, _what_?!" Neji and I both cried at the same time, staring at each other and blushing.

Ino and Sakura both burst into a fit of giggles. "We're just kidding, guys!" Ino said.

"Sh-Shut up, then!" I said quickly as Neji coughed and scratched his nose.

Sakura shrugged. "Okay, okay. Wanna watch us do our duet?! Everyone else is in the larger dance room, but coach said we can practice in the private room for a bit."

I smiled, getting over the recent incident. "Yeah, of course I wanna see you guys dance!"

"Okay, then! Sit down there, guys!" Ino said happily, and Neji and I obeyed, sitting next to each other. Neji sat with his legs crossed, and I pulled my knees up to my chest, hugging them and peering over at Sakura and Ino.

"Okay! Here we go!" Sakura said, grinning. Ino took her beginning position and Sakura turned on the stereo and ran over, striking her own beginning position.

And then it began. I found myself captured by the way they moved their bodies and the expressions on their faces. The way they matched their motions with the rhythm of the music almost perfectly, the way the choreography was so smooth, the entire performance was almost flawless.

When they finished they stayed in their pose for a while then relaxed and beamed as I started clapping happily, laughing. "That was amazing!"

"Good job." Neji said, watching me with a small smile. "Look how happy you made her."

Sakura and Ino giggled. "Thanks! You wanna show us something in return now, TenTen?"

Neji blinked and turned to me, and I raised an eyebrow. "…What do you mean…?" I asked.

"You used to dance, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Show us something, come on!" Sakura cheered.

I shrugged. "I dunno…"

"I'd like to see, TenTen." Neji said suddenly. I turned to look at him and saw an encouraging smile on his face. "It would really make my day even better. Come on."

I smiled back. "Okay, okay…" For some reason, I just couldn't turn him down. I stood and sighed. "Let's see, what was one of my solos…"

**Hinata**;

"So this is what Naruto and you do every day?" Sasuke asked as he leaned against the table that the printer sat on, waiting for yet another page of my project to pop out.

"Yes." I said, collecting more papers in my arms. We were at the library and working on my project. "It usually takes a lot longer than this."

"That's cause I'm smarter than the idiot." Sasuke said, smirking proudly. I just gave him a look and he chuckled. "Okay, I'll stop." We smiled at each other, then we both blushed and turned away. Sasuke picked up the freshly printed paper and handed it to me.

I sighed, smiling a bit. For some reason, I felt like opening up to him. "You know what's odd?" I said as I flipped through the papers to double check them.

"What's that?"

"I sort of enjoy the feeling of freshly printed papers."

Sasuke blinked. "Really?"

"Mhm. They're warm, from the machinery heating up. And it just feels nice between your fingers, that nice warm feeling." Sasuke laughed, and I smiled. "I know, it's silly."

"No, that's not what's funny!" Sasuke said. "It's just that I feel the same way!"

I stared at him and started giggling. "Really?!"

He nodded, grinning. "Yeah, totally!"

"That's weird." I said, and the two of us laughed for a bit.

"Hey, are you two lovers done loitering by my printer?" The librarian came up to us suddenly. We both blushed at what he called us and Sasuke quickly took my hand.

"Yeah, sorry…" he muttered, pulling me along after him.

I smiled. His hand was warm as well…

**Mara**;  
OK, so I have some news to tell you. I've recently seen the light that is Karin from Naruto. _I love her_! OMG, seriously, she's awesome! And I love SasuKarin! I'm not kidding, seriously! And all you Karin haters can shut your traps. So she's not as pretty as Sakura? So she's on Sasuke's new team? So Sasuke actually gives a shit about her? Why's that a reason to hate her? I love her, guys. So all the Karin bashing I've done recently I officially apologize for. There will be no more Karin bashing from now on! I love you Karin-chan! :D (Don't get all pissed off at me, please. I've just stopped being completely cliché and immature and started loving Karin and SasuKarin. It's not a big deal.) Either way, _reveiw_ please! :)  
**PS. I have a poll up on my profile! VOTE! This story might be ending soon, and I need new ideas for the next one I'm going to put up!**  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	9. A Compliment

_Forest green changes to harvest red_

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Nine_

**TenTen**;

"Oh my gosh, TenTen, you're awesome!"

"You're amazing!"

"I said it first, Sakura."

"No you didn't, Ino, _I_ did!"

"You must be deaf. You said it about a second after I did."

"You're an idiot, Ino-_pig_!"

"_What_?! Well excuse me, Miss. _Forehead_!"

"What did you call me?!"

"Guys, stop…" I muttered, putting an arm between them. I sighed. "You guys fight way too much. Sometimes it's not worth betting over you…"

"You _bet_ over us?"

"…No!" I said, laughing nervously and retracting my arm.

I had just finished my solo. I was worried that it would be a little shaky after not doing it for a while, but for some reason every time I saw Neji watching me, I got an invigorating burst of energy and I felt like I was flying…

I felt like I was _flawless_.

And the way he was looking at me…I probably was, for once in my life.

"…We'll talk to you about the _betting_ later. But you were great!" Sakura said with a giggle.

"Right _Neji_?" Ino asked slyly.

He stood and stretched a bit after sitting for so long, and I blinked, shifting awkwardly. But he smiled, and said, "Amazing."

**Hinata**;

"Thank you." I said, smiling at Sasuke as he walked me back to his and Naruto's house. He had not only gotten me a lot farther along with the project but he was by my side the entire time. Now, he was taking me to see Naruto at my request, who was supposed to be sleeping in his room.

"Yeah, yeah. I already told you why I'm doing this, so don't get all touchy-feely." Sasuke muttered.

I just laughed, and he glanced at me and smiled a bit in spite of himself. "Hey, Hinata…?"

"Hm?" I asked with a small smile.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're really cute?" he asked. He smirked when I blushed.

"Wh-What? Well, I don't know, I mean, I never-"

I was silenced by the familiar warm, tingly feeling.

Sasuke, kissing me…

I felt my face burn. '_Oh no…!_'

When he parted, he stared at me and scratched his head. "Er…That's for being kinda cool to me." he muttered awkwardly.

I put a hand over my lips. "You're the second one." I said quietly.

"What?"

"…N…Never mind."

**Temari**;

"So part A is .0485 milliliters, and part B is 77.7 percent gas and 33.3 percent solid, and part C is Uranium, Potassium 2, and Oxygen 2."

"Correct. Nice, Temari, you actually got it on the first try."

"For the second time in a row too! How's that?!"

Shikamaru laughed. We were at my house, sitting on my sofa. "Nice job. You've improved, a lot."

"I don't get why we have to do this though." I said, leaning back into the sofa. I'd been a lot more confident lately, and around Shikamaru I felt more casual. Like I was able to be myself without consequence. It wasn't such a bad feeling either. "We're supposed to be studying Calculus, not Chemistry."

"Well, Chemistry's a key function in Calculus, believe it or not. Just as Algebra's a key function in Geometry." Shikamaru said, watching me.

"Oh, I see." I sighed and straightened up. "So what's next? Bring it on."

He chuckled. "You seem so eager…But that's about it for today. I'm tired, I'd rather go home and sleep…"

I frowned. "Come on. I get all excited and you have to go now?"

He smirked. "You know I'll be back for you tomorrow, princess." I blushed. I couldn't help it. But Shikamaru snickered. "I'm kidding." he said. "But I seriously have to go." He stood and grabbed his bag, flinging it across his shoulder. "Oh that's right. I have a news for you…But I wonder if I should tell you…"

"Huh? What's that?"

"It's a surprise, I'm not supposed to tell you."

I glared at him. "What's with you?!"

He laughed a bit. "Alright, alright. It's not like it was a secret or anything."

"You just wanted to torture me, didn't you?" I muttered.

"You caught me." I couldn't help but laugh a bit, and he continued. "See, Azuma told me that there's a large optional test coming up soon. It's like the ACT or SAT, but it's more of an engagement project. It'll, um, sort of help me get into college. If my tutoring proves that I helped you, which means you pass that test…I'll get a scholarship when I graduate." He sighed. "Which is all that my dad's ever wanted for me…"

I stared at him. "When…is it…?"

He watched me warily. "…A few days…"

I felt my mouth drop open. "_What_?!"

"It was late notice." Shikamaru continued quickly. "So don't take it out on me, take it out on Azuma."

"I have only a couple days to study for a test I just heard about...?! How hard is it?!"

"If you want the truth…Then it's very challenging even for me. I doubt even _I'd_ get one hundred percent…"

I dropped my book from my hands and it slammed on the coffee table with a bang that made Shikamaru wince but which I ignored. "You have to be kidding me…" I gasped.

"…Well…" Shikamaru said quietly. "I thought you'd be able to do it, but…You don't have to take it if you don't want to. It's for my benefit after all, so I thought I'd just lay it off till-"

"I'm taking it." I said suddenly.

Shikamaru blinked. "…Say what…?"

"I said I'm taking it. It's the only thing I can do after you've helped me with my studying, after all. I don't want to have to owe you money or something, or have you holding it over my head from now on. So I'll help you out with this."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not going to say no to that…But are you sure you can do this?"

"…I'll try…and I'll need help…"

"I'll help you. But you'll have to be willing to do it and study and promise you'll do your best. No matter what your best is. Just try your hardest, and…I know you can at _least_ pass it by half a point if my calculations are correct."

"I will. Promise." I said, grinning at him.

He smiled a bit, and I saw his cheeks turn a little pink at my smile. I remembered what he'd said. '_Something about my smile…_'

"I never thought I'd say this, but thanks, Princess." he said quietly. "We'll go over it tomorrow. For now, just…relax."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get out of here." I said, but I was smiling more than I ever had.

**TenTen**;

"Hey Neji?"

Neji was walking with me back to the park. The air was slowly getting colder and I found myself glad I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, pulling it a little lower over the backs of my hands. Ino and Sakura were finishing up their dance practice, promising to meet me back at the park.

He looked sideways at me. "Hm?"

"Do you like my friends?" I asked curiously.

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Um, yeah, actually. They seem nice."

I smiled. "Good!" He smirked but said nothing. '_I'm glad he likes my friends. I like his, after all._' I thought happily.

But something was still bothering me.

"Um… Neji?"

"Yeah?"

"…Did you really mean it, back there…?" I asked quietly. "Was I really…good…?"

Neji stopped walking suddenly. I looked up at him, startled, and in a second his hands were on my shoulders. He was smiling gently at me, his eyes soft. "TenTen, you were incredible. The most beautiful dancer I've seen."

I felt my cheeks grow a little pink and looked away awkwardly between his arms, smiling just a bit. "…Thanks…" I mumbled, fidgeting with my hands. "…Cause that's kinda the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." I added shyly under my breath. Neji coughed and let me go, scratching his nose.

"…I'm glad." he said quickly, nervously. "Er…Let's…um…"

"Go back to the park?" I suggested teasingly, and laughed when he sent me a look. As we walked, I looked sideways at him and smiled.

"You're a nice guy, Neji."

**Temari**;

"…I have it!" I whispered to myself. "X centimeters equals 2.4 inches times 1 centimeter divided by 2.4 inches, I finally got it!"

I was whispered because my two brothers were home, and if they heard me _studying chemistry_ in my room instead of texting friends, I'd never live it down. But at least I was ready for that test soon enough. And as boring as Chemistry was, the feeling I got every time I finished a question and got it right made me out to be someone _successful_, like I was doing something _right_ for once.

Or maybe it was Shikamaru…Shikamaru making me feel like that…

"Shikamaru…" I whispered beneath my breath. "I know Karin was just being stupid the other day. I'm not crushing on you. But…what else could it be…?"

"Temari, phone call!"

I jumped and quickly stuffed all my books and things underneath my pillow, and Kankerou walked into my room soon after and threw me the portable home phone. I stared at it. "How come they didn't call me cell…?" I muttered, annoyed. I blinked.

'_What if it's Shikamaru…?!_' I thought wildly. '_Wow, why am I so nervous?!_'

I held it to my ear quickly. "H-Hello?" I cursed myself inwardly for stuttering.

"_Hey, Temari?"_

I blinked. He sounded different. "Hey?"

"_This is Sai."_

I stared at the phone. "…Huh…?" I asked stupidly.

"Um, this is Sai. You know me, right…? I mean, I've talked to you a lot…"

I tried to calm myself. '_Damn it, why did I just jump to conclusions and automatically guess it was Shikamaru?! It's not always Shikamaru! Why should I even be thinking about him at all?! What's my problem?!_'

"U-Uh, yeah, I know you, sorry…I was, er, expecting Tayuya to call me, my, uh, cell phone's out of batteries."

"_Oh, okay, that's understandable…er…I was just calling to ask if you want to go out with me this weekend?"_

I froze. '_Come on, Temari. Sai, the really cool guy! The one you've wanted to go out with for a while now! This is the perfect opportunity! Say yes! Say yes!"_

"Um…no thanks."

"…Oh…"

I stared at the phone. '_What was I thinking?!_' I shrieked in my mind. I was about to open my mouth to take it back, but Sai suddenly sighed loudly.

"I'm actually kind of glad you said no. I would have been pretty guilty if you went with me…"

I blinked. "…Why…?"

"Because I was going to _use_ you…" he muttered.

"…Why you little…" I was a centimeter away from cussing him out, but luckily he continued quickly.

"I know, I know, I'm an ass for it, okay! But…it was to get this one girl…"

"…Girl…?"

"…Ino Yamanaka…I really like her, and I heard she's interested in me, but she's way too antsy, so she'll never make the first move or anything. I thought that if I made her jealous she'd take action, but I guess not."

"Well duh." I found myself saying. Sai was silent. I went on. "Dude, _you_ have to make the first move! Be a man, damn it, don't go around using other girls! That'll just make the chick hate you, you'll push her further away! Girls love it when guys make the first move. And if you heard she's hitting on you too, then what the hell are you waiting for?!"

Sai was quiet for a while, then he laughed. "Wow! You know, I thought you were just like all the other preppy girls out there, but you sure proved me wrong. Thanks a lot, I think I'm gonna do that…Cause you're kind of threatening me without threatening me, if you get what I mean."

I grinned. "I think so."

"You've changed, huh?"

"…Yeah." I had changed. I had Shikamaru to thank for that…

**Hinata**;

"I'm home." Sasuke announced loudly as we entered their house, setting our bags to the side. We looked around.

I was, meanwhile, in a dilemma. '_Who to choose?! Who to choose?!_' I kept thinking. Two people kept running through my mind, and both of them made me so happy. Naruto, Sasuke. Both of them were willing to break the boundaries and kiss me. Both were willing to spend time with me. Both were willing to open themselves up to me. But that was the problem! Who was I willing to spend more time with?! Who would win? And why did I love the feeling of being a prize? Why was I so selfish, suddenly, and why did I feel like it was about time someone _let_ me feel selfish?

Was I just…_using_ them…?

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as we walked through the living room. "Hey, idiot?"

I frowned. "Is he alright?" I gasped. "Oh no…someone died a few days ago from the flu, and it's been going around…You don't think-!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Shit! _NARUTO!_" he shouted, and suddenly he ran from the room.

I watched him running and suddenly started feeling a bit uneasy. I followed behind him silently as he crashed through the bedroom door and ran over to the bed, then stopped. I stopped next to him and looked down at the bed.

Naruto was lying there peacefully. Sleeping. His eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly out of his slightly parted mouth. One black blanket was twisted around his body oddly, and he was shirtless and wearing black sweatpants. His hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, and suddenly Sasuke's pale hand darted down to brush it out of his eyes. I glanced up at Sasuke, and I saw something in his eyes…Concern. Such concern for Naruto that I felt shivers rush up my arms. Just from the look on his face, I was so moved, as if I wasn't supposed to be here. I was interrupting something precious…

Sasuke sat next to Naruto on the bed. It seemed in his worry he'd forgotten I was there. He moved Naruto into a more comfortable-looking position, pulled the blankets off him and lay them gently back on him, up to his chest so he wouldn't get too hott. It seemed the fever was breaking, hence why he was drenched in perspiration.

Sasuke pressed his hand to Naruto's forehead and kept it there a little too long, gazing at the boy's face. Almost on instinct his hand darted eventually to his cheek and lingered there, cupping his face. Like a father. Like a brother. Like a _lover_.

My heart seemed to speed up then stop then speed up again, pounding hard in my chest and resonating through my rips and vibrating the muscles in my throat. My mouth parted and I tried to control my breathing as realization washed over me like a tsunami, leaving me behind like the washed-up wreckage of the surviving.

"I…I'm going home now…" I barely whispered. I doubted Sasuke heard me, but I ran from the room anyway, grabbing my bag and leaving the house as quickly as I could.

'_I can't believe this…!_' I thought as I speed-walked down the sidewalk, my hair flying behind me. The shock was enormous. I wanted to jump, I wanted to scream.

'_And…and they don't even realize it themselves…!_'

**Mara**;  
OMG, I dunno if you understood what's going on here. But I'm not telling you, because I wasn't really intending to blurt it out. So it's actually a good thing if you don't get it. You will next chapter, though, so don't worry. :)  
_Reviews would be nice, thanks.  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx_


	10. A Foreshadowing

_Will winter clouds soon loom before us?_

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Ten_

**Hinata**;

_Sometime's it's hard, finding out something you'd rather you didn't, isn't it? Sorry, just had to point that out. I mean, I just found out that my friend's dog died. I wish I didn't have to know it, selfish as it is. I wish I didn't have to feel a certain sorry-ness for that friend every time I look at him._

_I know you've probably felt the same way. But just to let you know, it's alright. You can always get through these kinds of things. Don't jump to conclusions. Stay calm. You know, those kinds of methods._

_I guess it's just a…suggestion. I don't know, advice. Either way, I hope things are all okay with you. Things are going alright with me. I'm…happy._

_Just to let you know…_

_Everything's okay._

_I'll talk to you later. I have some homework to do._

_Anonymous_

I closed my eyes and calmed myself. '_Anonymous is right. Just calm down. You're overreacting. Everything's okay…_'

"Hinata, are you coming to school?"

I opened my eyes. "Y-Yes, Nii-san, I'm coming."

"Okay, I'll wait outside."

I looked up at the ceiling.

'_Everything's okay…_'

**TenTen**;

The next day went by well. I found myself looking forward to the school day ending, though. I wanted to see Neji more and more recently. I even thought about him when I was going to sleep. Ino and Sakura had noticed as well, telling me I'd been a lot more distant lately. That was because I was daydreaming, remembering conversations and moments between me and Neji…

So now, I finally got to see him. He was walking up to me on the bench in the park. Today his hair was in two low pony tails again, and he was dressed in a tee shirt, a brown jacket buttoned over it, jeans, and brown boots under the jeans. There was a yellow scarf around his neck as well.

Me, I wore my hair in two low buns, a brown dress down to my elbows and ending at mid thigh, thigh high green socks, and knee high brown boots. I had green mittens on.

I laughed a bit. "I guess it really is getting colder." I said, my breath showing in front of me as I stood and we both dropped our bags off.

He laughed as well. "It is autumn, after all." he pointed out.

"So where are we going today?" I asked immediately.

He smiled slyly. "Well…do you like kids?"

**Temari**;

"…Um…" I chewed my bottom lip in concentration, staring at the problem in front of me. "I think it's the…transversal theorem…but I'm not sure. I mean I proved it but I just don't feel like it's right…" I muttered.

Shikamaru took the paper from me. He read it over for a bit. I sighed dejectedly as he took a longer time than usual to read it. '_It probably isn't right…_'

"It's right."

"What?!" I gaped as he handed it back with a laugh.

"You need to stop being so paranoid, Temari. You're doing fine. Did you seriously study that workbook I gave you?"

"Well, yeah, I mean you told me to."

"You're doing what I say now too? Wow, Princess, I think you've revolutionized."

I grinned, realizing his joke. "thank globalization."

He laughed yet again. I smiled. He actually though I was funny…!

"Yay, Shika-kun!" I choked on my own air when a young brown-haired girl burst through the front girl and skipped over, her scarf and mittens flying around her bouncily. "I just knew you were here!"

"Calm down, Matsuri." Gaara said, coming behind her with Kankerou, who closed the door.

Kankerou looked over at me and Shikamaru, who both looked completely appalled. "Dude, Temari, I hope you know that when I said Shikamaru was asking you out it was just a joke…"

"DUMB ASS!" I yelled, jumping to my feet and grabbed Kankerou so I could give him a headlock.

"I'm…sorry…dear sister…!" he choked out.

Gaara sighed. "Everyone just calm down…Kankerou, stop teasing Temari before she commits homicide, you know it's just a study session…"

I let Kankerou go angrily, who gasped for air, and turned to the brown-haired girl and Shikamaru.

"Um, wait a minute, I'm a little confused…" I said slowly.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as Matsuri clung to his arm. "She's my cousin. And you guys…" he turned to Gaara and Kankerou. "How do _you_ know her?"

"That's Gaara-kun! He's my boyfriend! And apparently he's your girlfriend's little brother!"

Shikamaru and I both turned red. "Shut it, stupid, she's not my girlfriend." Shikamaru snapped as I fisted my hands in frustration.

Matsuri giggled. "Okay, okay. But she's pretty enough to be." I blushed, and she turned to me and beamed. "Hey! That reminds me why I came here!" she cried. "He told me that he knew his little sister could come with him and Kankerou to the dance, but I wanted to make sure he wasn't lying. Are you free tonight?"

"What dance?" Shikamaru and I asked at the same time dumbly.

Matsuri frowned. "Shikamaru! _You_ know! The dance your dad put together?"

"…Oh, that stupid Nara ball or whatever the hell it is?"

"Yup, that one! I invited Gaara and Kankerou, but I wanna invite more! So I'll invite you, Temari-chan!"

I blinked. "…Why me…?"

"Because I said she could." Gaara said, looking annoyed. "Just do what I say for once, alright?"

I glared at him. "May I remind you who's the oldest, _little boy_?" I asked dangerously. Shikamaru laughed behind his hand.

Gaara just rolled his eyes. "It's a dance, Temari. You love these things, right?"

"Not really."

Kankerou grinned. "Well then why don't I blackmail you, dear sister?" My eyes widened.

"…You don't have anything on me…" I said as calmly as I could.

"Oh, you'd be surprised. Father would love to hear about that test you failed back a month ago."

"You wouldn't!" I cried, gaping at him.

"Oh, but I would. After all that torture you put me and Gaara through, I would, and I wouldn't bat an eyelash. Now you can come to the dance or you can listen to dad yelling over the phone about-"

"I'm coming, Matsuri."

"Yay!"

**Hinata**;

I sighed. It was finally time to see Naruto. If he was feeling better. Or Sasuke, if Naruto was still sick. For some reason in my gut I wanted both of them to be sick, but then I felt like kicking myself. They were wonderful people. I had to get over my crazy notions. There wasn't anything strange going on.

'_Everything's okay._'

"Hey Hinata."

I took a deep breath and looked up to see who it was. But the feeling in my gut only worsened when I saw both Naruto and Sasuke standing there coolly.

I gulped. '_Everything's…okay…_!' I squeaked lamely in my mind.

**TenTen**;

"Alright, so TenTen, this is Hanabi and her friend Megumi, Hanabi, Megumi, this is TenTen." Neji said calmly as we stood in his house looking down at two little girls. One of them had long black hair and the same eyes as Neji, and the other had curly red hair. They were both pretty cute looking, but were giving me wary glares.

"I didn't know you had another little sister, Neji." I said so I didn't feel uncomfortable.

"Little cousin actually. My uncle sometimes hires me to watch her and her friend when he or the elders in the house can't."

"You mean babysit?" I asked with a laugh. "Haha, how manly."

"Oh shut up."

"Neji, is this your girlfriend?" Hanabi asked.

Both of us blushed and said, "No!" at the same time very loudly. Obviously we were both sick of people thinking we were going out.

Hanabi smirked. "Good."

Neji sighed, looking annoyed at his cousin's rudeness, and I frowned. '_Well, what a brat._' I thought a little angrily.

But she continued. "She'd be way too good for you, Neji-nii."

I tried to stop myself from laughing as Neji glowered. "Little brat. Come on, let's go to the park or something." Neji muttered. I kept laughing as we left the house.

**Hinata**;

"You're such an idiot, Naruto. She specifically said she wanted something on embryonic stem cells, not _embryos_!"

"Shut up, would you?! No one asked you to come!"

"Yeah, well she wouldn't be getting anywhere without me!"

"Well you're the one annoying the hell out of her!"

"_You're_ saying _I'm_ annoying?! You must be stupider than I thought!"

"I'm stupid?! Well then stop tagging along, ass hole!"

"Everything's okay…" I said to myself, depressed, sitting on the other side of the bench of Naruto and Sasuke, arguing loudly and attracting the attention of most of the library. I hid my face in my hands. They still didn't hear me and just argued louder. "Everything's okay…" I moaned into my hands.

**Temari**;

"I can't believe you're making me dress like this, Matsuri."

"Come on, Temari, you're way too pretty to have to hide yourself!"

I blushed a little. My hair was down and straightened and I had eyeliner on my eyes and bright red lipstick on my lips. I wore a short red empire dress with poofed sleeves and a high cut neck ending at mid-thigh and black heels. "I dunno, I feel a little sexier than usual."

"And you look it! I'm _so_ glad I found these in your closet!" Matsuri cried happily. Matsuri's hair was up in a high pony-tail and she wore a white empire dress, same design as mine but with lace detail on the front, violet tights, and knee-high cowgirl boots. "Gaara Shikamaru and Kankerou are in the living room by now, boys dress _so_ fast. So now let's go see how they look! Gaara should have brought over the tuxes for them."

She opened the door, and I sighed and fiddled a bit with my hair nonchalantly as I walked out. However, I froze when I caught sight of Shikamaru. Sure, Gaara and Kankerou looked nice in tuxes, but Shikamaru in dress attire looked…

Like a _man_!

I gulped and turned away when his eyes caught on me, and I heard Gaara and Kankerou chuckle. "Is that my sister?" Kankerou asked jokingly as Gaara pulled Matsuri over. Shikamaru just cleared his throat and looked away, but I was a little pleased when I saw the blush on his cheeks.

"Well then! Let's go! I'm so excited!" Matsuri squealed.

I sighed. "Ugh…This is gonna be a long night…"

**Mara**;  
Hey guys, long time no see, right? Sorry for the long updates. School is taking over my life. An Artist's Touch can be updated almost daily because the one shots have no real plot to them, but with Oh, Hell, and No and Hear No Evil, I have to really think about it, and my brain's already hurting from studying every morning and night for an hour…ugh…XO Well, I hope you enjoyed it anyways. **Reveiws**_would make my day_. :)  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	11. A Dance

_The walls that hold you now melt away_

_**Oh, Hell, and No**  
__Part Eleven_

**TenTen**;

"Wow, taking them to get some ice cream really wasn't a bad idea." I said to Neji, smiling as we walked down a woodchip path in the park, licking an ice cream each and watching the two little girls in front of us running along, already having finished their ice creams and letting out the excess energy by racing each other, stopping for breath frequently then getting up to run again.

"Of course. All of my ideas are good." Neji joked.

I laughed. "Really? Well I thought that taking a total stranger around town to try and convince her that it's not 'what she thinks' was a bad one."

"Maybe a random one but not a bad one."

I giggled, and he smiled. Suddenly another little boy scurried past and ran into me, knocking my ice cream out of my hand. I watched as it fell to the ground and laughed, stepping over it. "Whoops."

"Here." I blinked as he held his own in front of me, and then turned to stare at him.

"Are you serious?" I asked with another laughed.

"Go on."

'_Wow, flirting much?_' I thought with a small blush. But I bent over and took a lick, and he took it back, smirking.

"Like vanilla more than chocolate?"

"Of course not. I'll always like chocolate better. Vanilla's for tasteless losers." I teased.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well fine, if you'd rather be cliché."

"Speak for yourself, arguing about ice cream."

"How's that cliché?"

"Oww, oww!"

I looked over as Hanabi stopped running and stared at Megumi on the ground, wailing and clutching her knee. I smiled a little and walked over, kneeling next to her.

"Hey, what's the matter?" I asked kindly.

"I fell and got a cut on my leg!" Megumi whined, standing and showing me a red knee.

I frowned, getting up as well and bending down. "Uh oh, that looks like it hurts." She nodded, sniveling, but I held up a finger. "But you got right back up when you were done, didn't you? That means you're strong."

She stared at me, then gave a beaming smile. "Yeah!"

I smiled fondly as Hanabi ran over and started talking to Megumi, who was wiping away her tears and her runny nose. Then I felt eyes on me, and I turned to see Neji.

My heart sped up a bit. His eyes looked so soft and his expression was so fond as he stared into my own eyes. But a second later, Megumi ran over and held up her arms, begging to be carried because her legs were tired and her knee was hurting, and he obliged, picking her up and h0olding her against his shoulder. She cried something to him and he chuckled and responded, and I watched.

He was so…_gentle_. It was nice, to see this teenage boy have such affection for a little girl that wasn't even part of his family. I smiled happily, feeling my chest flutter.

His eyes caught on to mine, and he smiled back.

'_Neji's so…_'

**Hinata**;

"Alright, we're home!" Naruto said, grinning. "Just like I suggested, right Hinata?"

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered as he closed the door behind me. "_I_ was the one that suggested it."

"Wow, it was cold outside. I want some hot chocolate. Want me to make you some too, Hinata?"

"Y-You can make us _all_ some." I said, trying not to single myself out.

"And while the idiot's doing that I'll take your bag for you, since the idiot's obviously too lazy to do it himself."

"Shut up, bastard!" Naruto yelled as he went into the kitchen. "I have a name. And at least I'm making hot chocolate!"

"And originally it was only for you and Hinata, until she suggested you make some for me." Sasuke said, glaring at him. "Since you're so desperate to impress her."

"Like you aren't, ass hole?! If you think you're so cool then come make some hot chocolate yourself!"

"Fine, then, I will! And I'll stop you from burning the house down while I'm at it! Want me to guide you through the process of making it step by step, just to make sure?"

"God damn it, I said shut up! I know how to do it!"

"First you fill up the kettle half way, then you heat it up. While you're heating it, fill up a mug with three teaspoons of-"

"Want me to sock you?!"

"Please calm down…" I said, biting my lip and holding up my hands as I entered the kitchen.

"Listen to Hinata, Naruto."

"You're the one who started it, jack-"

Suddenly they both stopped talking, and I noticed something. They had been reaching for the container of cocoa powder, and a the same exact time their hands had touched each others. They both froze. I stared, my eyes growing large. I felt like I was violating a private moment again.

I didn't like it.

**Temari**;

"Shikamaru, Matsuri, welcome."

I stared at the door guard, bowing the two in. I covered my laugh. "What the hell, Shikamaru, how rich are you?" I muttered in his ear.

He just gave me a glare and said, "Shut up, I'll tell you about it when we get inside."

"Ah, Gaara, nice to see you again. And you too, Kankerou."

My mouth fell open. "Wha-?!"

"Again, I'll tell you inside." Shikamaru said, sighing and running a hand through his hair.

I gaped at Gaara and Kankerou. "Son of a bitch…You two have a lot of explaining to do…"

"And who, may I ask, are you, young lady?"

I blinked. "Um…Temari?"

The guard just gave me a look. I raised an eyebrow. "What, am I supposed to explain more? Well I'm sixteen, a virgin-"

"This is my older sister, I apologize for her lack of manners or self respect." Gaara said suddenly, putting a hand on my shoulder as Shikamaru snickered behind his hand. He looked at me. "Temari, try to be mature, please. This place is distinguished."

"Sh-Shut up! I'm not the one that dyed his hair red so he could look _cool_! Oh, is _Matsuri_ the girl Kankerou was telling me who was the reason you dyed your hair? Wow, that's buff."

"…Shut up. Just let us in already…"

The guard gave us a look and opened the door, and we entered. Matsuri, who was still giggling from my ranting, dragged Gaara onto the dance floor, and Kankerou met another girl who was supposedly his date at the door and kissed her hand. He glanced at Shikamaru and I and smirked slyly.

"Have fun." he taunted, then took the girl off to the dance floor.

Shikamaru coughed and I flicked Kankerou off furiously. I felt a little uncomfortable so I looked up at him. "So are you going to tell me now?"

"Uh, yeah. Come on." He guided me off to the side of the ball room and we sat at a small wooden bench.

"So?" I asked.

He sighed. "Well, my dad owns a…kinda wealthy business…"

"You call this _kinda_ wealthy?" I asked, gesturing at the huge ballroom filled with mostly adults and older teens dancing in beautiful outfits, the crystal goblets and butlers walking around offering wine and finger food on silver trays.

He rolled his eyes. "Alright, _very_ wealthy."

"Seriously…this is crazy." I said quietly, staring around at it all. "And to think Gaara and Kankerou knew about it the entire time and never told me."

"Well have you ever been interested in anything that had to do with me before?" Shikamaru muttered.

I blushed a little, but I knew what he meant and shook my head. "But…Why doesn't anyone know about this? I mean, you could be the most popular guy in school!"

"That's the point." Shikamaru said. "I don't want people to like me for money and values. That's why I care about my friends so much."

I stared at him as he said this. '_Wow…Did I ever once think someone like this was ever so much lower than me…?_' I thought, awed.

"But of course…there _is_ someone that knows…"

"Huh?"

"Um, nothing, no one, never mind."

"Seriously, what-?"

"Want to dance?"

"Huh?!" I blushed, and he did as well, when a slow song went on and he blurted it out.

"Wait, no, I didn't mean to say that, um…never mind, I-"

"Aw come on, Shikamaru, we heard ya loud and clear!" Shikamaru and I both jumped when Kankerou and Matsuri came out from no where (behind us, actually), smirking slyly.

"Go take Temari to dance!" Matsuri cried eagerly. "Just like you suggested! Come on!"

Shikamaru glared at her, a little pink in the face. "What if I don't?"

"Oh, you know what'll happen." Kankerou said suddenly, and he grinned. "Shikamaru, do you remember what you told Matsuri the other day? Well she told Gaara, and Gaara told me."

"What…are you talking about…?"

"And Temari, remember what you did to Gaara with the dead spiders? Well, he knows ways to get back at you for things like that, Temari. _He knows ways_."

I gulped. "You're kidding me…" I said slowly.

"Oh, we're not." Matsuri said with a smile that was _way_ too innocent. "So get your butts up there and dance, or _your lives are ours for the taking_."

"Let's go, Temari."

"Way ahead of you buddy."

"That's better…"

"Much better…"

**Hinata**;

"Aren't you going to make hot chocolate?" I asked loudly.

Naruto and Sasuke jumped away from each other and Sasuke grabbed it. "Idiot." he muttered, shoving past Naruto angrily and getting a spoon from a cabinet.

"Stop shoving me around you jack-ass!" Naruto yelled finally, stomping over to Sasuke furiously. "I'm sick of you! Treat me like a person, damn it, not a brain-less shit-for-brains!"

"Well maybe that's what you are!"

"A brainless shit-for-brains?! That's seriously what you think I am?!"

"What's it to you?!"

"Stop it…" I whispered.

"Damn it…Well at least I'm not a heartless bastard!"

"Stop it…" I repeated under my breath.

"You don't care about anyone but your own jerk self, Sasuke!"

"Please stop it…!" I murmured.

"You wouldn't even step in front of a bullet for _Hinata_!"

"Stop it…!"

"Don't tell me what the hell I would or wouldn't do, Naruto!"

"Stop it!"

"How do you know that I don't know you more than you know yourself, Sasuke?!"

"You think that I don't know _you_, you shit-head!"

"STOP IT!" I finally cried. They both stopped and stared at me, and now tears were falling down my face. "_Stop _it! Stop the arguing, the fighting! You don't even know _why_ you're fighting!"

They stared at me, lost for words.

"What about _each other_?! Did you _ever_ stop arguing to think about _that_?!"

I saw realization slowly dawn on their faces. I let my tears fall from my face. It hurt. The two people that had finally looked at me and they just had to do this to me…

"Think, _please_!" I begged them, pleading for them to understand what I was talking about. Maybe they could love someone other than what they thought. Maybe they could bend the rules, change the laws, and learn that they could love _each other_!

"Think about what you're fighting for…!" I whispered.

When they said nothing, I turned and ran from the room, grabbing my back in the living room and fleeing the house as fast as I could.

**Temari**;

"Manipulative bastards." I muttered as Shikamaru pulled me through the crowd to the dance floor.

"I'll say."

Silence.

"At least I know where they get it from."

"Don't tempt me, dude, I'm two inches away from stepping on your foot, and I'm in pumps."

"Yeah, yeah. Here." He stopped walking and turned to me, and I suddenly felt nervous as he looked down at me and held out his arms. I didn't do anything, and he raised an eyebrow. "…Here." He took my hands suddenly and put them around his neck, the placed his own on my waist and made me move slowly from side to side to the beat. "What's wrong? Haven't you ever danced before, princess?"

'_Great, he's back to calling me that._' I thought bitterly, and I sighed as I felt myself blush. "…No…" I admitted finally.

He blinked. "Seriously? _You_? The prep, the cheerleading captain, track star, Miss _Perfect_? I thought tons of men were hitting on you."

"Yeah, well not for the right reason." I muttered. "Tons of guys asked me to dance at dances, but I've turned 'em all down."

"Then why am I so special?"

I blushed even harder and ignored his gaze. "You're…different…" I whispered suddenly.

He sighed. "Of course…" he muttered.

My eyes widened. "No, not like that!" I said quickly, looking back up at him reassuringly. "I mean…you…you're not…" I bit my lip and got a hold of myself. "You…actually care to help me out, and not because I'm popular or have a body…but because you actually…want to see how far I'll go…" I stared at the ground now. "And you're probably one of the coolest guys I've ever met…And everything I've ever said about you…I take it back, because you're not a nerd, you're not a dork, you're not emo or any of that dumb stereotypical crap I've ever come up with. And you actually care about me..." I looked back up at him and gave him the best smile I could. "So thanks."

He stared at me for a while, then his eyes softened. "…You're one crazy girl, aren't you?" he asked quietly.

We stared into each other's eyes for a while, but then I heard someone giggling and saw out of the corner of my eye a brown-haired girl laughing behind her hand and groaned.

"Damn it, Matsuri, are you a friggin stalker or something?!"

"Ha-ha, you're so cute, Temari!"

"_How_ is this _cute_?! I'm _pissed_, damn it, _pissed_!"

But no…I wasn't pissed…

I wasn't even angry.

I was scared. Terrified, even.

Because for the first time in my life, I knew I was in love. And the 'lucky guy' happened to be none other than Shikamaru Nara.

**TenTen**;

"I don't get it, Neji."

"Honestly, I'm no closer."

We were looking at a very strange sight, and one I never thought I'd see if I lived to be two thousand years old. Sakura Haruno and Rock Lee holding hands, and Ino Yamanaka on Sai's back piggy-back style, all of them looking brilliantly happy and looking forward to seeing us.

"I think they're going out."

"Or something like it." Neji agreed with me, nodding, as we walked up to them warily.

"But Sakura was freaking out…"

"And Sai said he didn't even care about Ino…"

"Weird." We both said at the same time as we got up to them.

"Oh, there you are Neji. Well, Ino, see you tomorrow then!"

"Sure thing hun!" Ino gave Sai a huge wet kiss before she slipped off him gently and got to her feet and waited off to the side. Sakura gave Lee a quick kiss on the cheek and giggled as he blushed bright red and nearly fell over. When Neji bid me goodbye, looking somewhat confused, I quickly grabbed their arms and yanked them along on our way back home.

"I have to go home early because I was supposed to call mom and dad, so I'll make this quick." I said in a dangerously low tone. "What the hell is going on?"

Sakura sighed. "We're in _love_, TenTen!"

"Ironically at the same time." Ino added, fanning herself. "Sai is so-!"

"Sakura! You specifically said you wouldn't go out with Lee! You said he was creepy! You said he was gross! You said-!"

"Oh TenTen, that's in the _past_!" she cried. "I mean, that's what's best about love letters. You can't judge the person. And I learned that you can't judge true love either. TenTen, he'll do _anything_ for me, he is _so_ sweet! I've never met anyone who cares about me so much in my life, and it makes me feel so important!"

I stared at her, then I shook my head and turned to Ino. "And what about you?! You've never shown any signs of interest in Sai before! _None_! I didn't even think you guys _knew_ each other!"

"We didn't, but…Oh, TenTen, the _compliments_ he gives me…! I swear, I've never felt so beautiful and smart and funny in my life, and that's just a _small_ demonstration! He makes me feel like I'm actually _beautiful_! I've never been called that before in my life. How can you not love someone that wonderful?!"

I gaped. "Wow, you two really _are_ women…" I whispered. They just giggled, completely love struck.

Finally we were at my house, and I said goodbye to them and entered, retreating regretfully to my phone.

I picked it up and dialed it. It rang for a bit, then I finally got my mom.

"Hey, it's TenTen. You wanted me to call you in the message you left me, right? Yeah. Uhuh? What…?"

I nearly dropped the phone.

"I can go…_home_…?"

**Mara**;  
Someone please play my scary music soundtrack! XD LOL, sorry bout the cliffy. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review. :)  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	12. A Change

_A brilliant rainbow leads you onward from today._

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Twelve_

**Hinata**;

'_When I need him the most…_'

I stared at the porch of my house. Completely normal except…there was no white envelope on the front step. Nothing to reassure me I was being watched.

'_Was I just imagining it the entire time?!_' I thought as tears spilled from my eyes. '_Was I just imagining that I mattered to __**anyone**__?!_'

Now I cried even harder. My entire life, living in silence. It would still continue.

'_When the two people I thought were fighting over __**me**__ were actually fighting for each other, when the person I thought was always watching me suddenly disappears…_'

I collapsed onto the porch, exhausted from running.

'_And when my project is finally finished but I feel so sad…_'

"What…is there left to be alive for…?!" I asked quietly, my voice shaking with sobs.

"What am I supposed to do…?!"

**TenTen**;

"What do you mean I can go home?" I asked.

My mother's frantic voice replied eagerly from the other line. "TenTen-chan, you can come back home now! You said you hated this place, so I pulled some strings with your father, and we've decided we miss you a lot. We'd love for you to come back! So we've arranged a flight for you to come right back to Kiri two days from now!"

I couldn't say anything to her. She was silent, the phone's connection hissing a bit with our breaths.

"TenTen?" she asked after a while, her voice had a small smile stuck to it that faded slowly with edging concern. "Is something…the matter?"

I swallowed, my throat muscles tightening. "N-No, nothing's the matter. I think I have a cold, that's all…" My lips curled inward hesitantly before I asked, "Mom, how much was the plane ticket…?"

"…Oh, um…Expensive, darling, ha-ha…very…very expensive…"

"…Oh…"

"…TenTen…are you sure nothing's wrong…?"

"I'm fine. I'll start packing now."

**Temari**;

"We're glad you had fun, Temari! Right, Shika?! Right?!"

"I never said I had fun, Matsuri."

"But you _did_, didn't you Temari?! Didn't you?"

"…Just because I can't resist your puppy dog eyes, sure."

"Yay! Hey…wait a minute!" I laughed a bit as Matsuri pouted. "Whatever." she said, sulking. "Bye, Gaara!"

He smiled a bit, and I saw some fondness in my brother's eyes I hadn't seen before. "Bye." I smiled too. He had the same eyes Shikamaru had when he was looking at me…

I coughed and shook my head discreetly for myself. '_No, Temari. It's not right, it's __**not right**__._'

Matsuri left with an annoyed looking Shikamaru, who gave me one more look over his shoulder that made me blush. Kankerou closed the door, then he and Gaara slowly turned to me.

"Temari…" Kankerou started, and this time I didn't interrupt him. He sighed. "Temari, I know how you're starting to feel about him."

"Both of us do." Gaara said mildly. "You can't hide it."

I just looked away. "…I know." I said under my breath.

"And we know how he's staring to feel about-"

"He doesn't feel anything for me." I interrupted Kankerou with grim confidence.

Kankerou narrowed his eyes. "Temari-!"

"He doesn't, okay?!" I said, my voice raising. I closed my eyes. "He _can't_. Hell, _I_ can't. I can't even tell him, or ask him, or-"

"Temari, if you think this is because of your stupid slutty comrades you call _friends_, then you're wrong!" Kankerou said, his voice now louder than my own. "You've been brainwashed and you're finally starting to act more mature. More like who _you_ are, who you _really_ are!"

"And it's all because of Shikamaru." Gaara joined in quietly. "You can't throw away everything he's given you for them. Throw _them_ away instead."

My eyes widened. "I can't!" I insisted. "You don't understand, it's not that easy! It's…it's my _life_ I'll be throwing away if I do this! It's not _right_! It's not _allowed_!"

Gaara stared at me. "Alright. Think whatever you will, Temari. But the question is, do you _want_ to?"

I turned my back on my two curious brothers. "You don't have to know that." I whispered. And I left the room.

**TenTen**;

As I lay in bed that night, I stared at the ceiling, wondering what I'd done.

And there was one person I could think about more than everyone else I had met.

More than Sakura, Ino, Sai, Lee.

More than Hanabi and Megumi, Deidara and Tobi.

More than anyone he had introduced me to.

"Neji…"

**Temari**;

"Karin?"

"…Temari…!"

"Hi…" I said softly.

"Are you alright? You're crying…!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen…Just to let you know, no matter what people say about me tomorrow…I hope you'll still believe in me…" I said softly into my cell phone as I sat on my bed in my room.

Karin was silent over the phone. Then she sighed deeply. "…Temari, I worked hard to get my reputation." I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth to tell her off, but she interrupted me before I could speak. "However I know you did too."

My eyes widened.

"So if it means doing the right thing, then sure."

She suddenly hung up the phone, and I stared at it. Then I smiled. "Thanks…" I whispered. There was one person that understood me…

Now, it was time to call up Ami, Tayuya, and Kin in a three-way.

'_It's time to make a few changes…_'

**Hinata**;

I sat in my room, sipping some hot chocolate that I'd made for myself. Neji was in the other room, studying.

I sighed. I was going through all the letters. Again, as a source of reassurance that I hadn't dreamed all of it.

Or maybe I was just dreaming now.

For the first time, I closed my eyes and wondered; '_Who are you…?_'

**Temari**;

The next day at school, as I'd expected, people were pointing at me as I walked down the hall. Students stared and looked shocked that I was here in person. Showing my face and not just being ashamed. I heard them whispering and gossiping. As if I _couldn't_ hear. It sure as hell pissed me off, but what was there to do? Nothing.

Ami, Kin, and Tayuya were over by the cafeteria. They turned their backs on me. Karin was at another table and gave me a small weak smile before turning back to her boyfriend, Suigetsu hesitantly.

I stopped when suddenly Ami, Kin and Tayuya all looked at me as I passed right by the open doors to the cafeteria. Their glares seemed to penetrate me. Those faces that once had bright smiles at the sight of me, awe glittering in their eyes, were now so…

Hurtful…

I gulped and turned around again, trying not to cry. For the first time in a few years, I would go to class on time this morning.

Since there was nowhere else to go.

**TenTen**;

The day ended, and I made my way to the park as usual. Today my hair was down and I was dressed in a dark blue, long sleeved shirt with a box-cut, a white cami under it, and which ended at my hips over jeans tucked into knee-high brown boots. I also wore a light brown jacket.

And next to me was Ino. She said that Sai was taking a day off of basketball to meet her at the park. She was still gossipy about me and Neji from the other day (she and Sakura both had been.)

Sai came now, to pick her up for the movies, since today was now too cold to get ice cream. Ino jumped to her feet and turned around, looking at me with a sly smile on her face.

"Good luck with your _date_!" she joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Aww shut up."

"Come on, you know he likes you!"

"I said shut up, Ino! Just go on _your_ date!"

She laughed brightly and skipped away. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" she sang over her shoulder with a wink, not mentioning that there _wasn't_ anything she _wouldn't_ do.

Neji finally showed up, looking cheerful as usual. His hair was in a high pony tail again, and he wore a red hoodie zip-up, jeans with a white patch on the ripped knee, and red and white gym shoes. He looked cool…as usual…

I tried to give him my best smile, but I felt guilty. Guilty for so many reasons.

"Where to today?" I asked as I dropped my bag on the bench next to his.

"Actually, I'm a little tired today. How does getting a hot chocolate and just…sitting here sound?" he asked, smiling guiltily.

I stared at him, and then giggled. "Sure!" He could always cheer me up…

**Temari**;

After school I made my way to my house. My hair was down, and my hands were stuffed in the pockets of my violet winter coat. I had a purple, plaid pleated skirt over jeans and white gym shoes on, perfect for the chilling weather. Leaves fell around me, and my breath fogged my eyesight.

My day had gone horribly. Every hour there was another person that gave me this horrified look. How could I have quit the cheerleading team and thrown them into utter chaos like that?! Their captain, their star mascot! Shit like that…

And then came the test I'd been looking forward to. The one Shikamaru was preparing me for. The one that could make both of our futures.

It was harder than I thought. Way harder. I'd done my best, but…

'_I know that I bombed it._' I thought dully. '_I just know it._'

I looked up at the sky. Who was left? After Shikamaru was done tutoring me - and that probably would be soon after he was disgusted with my awful results - no one but my brothers would even want to talk to me…

I sighed. '_Nothing's left…after this…_'

**Hinata**;

"Great job on the project, Hinata!" Kurenai said for what felt like the hundredth time as I exited the classroom.

I smiled weakly before I hurried out the door to avoid the other students' stares.

As expected, Naruto and Sasuke were not there to meet me.

I felt so empty. I'd aced the project. I'd even gotten _twenty_ extra credit points, now that Kurenai was so impressed with me. I'd gotten what I wanted. What everyone had expected from me.

So why did I feel like I failed?

**TenTen**;

"You're crazy." I laughed.

Neji laughed as well. We were sitting together sipping our hot chocolates, watching little kids run by, squirrels scurrying about to bury nuts and things, and the occasional bird land in front of our bench, pecking away at the woodchips.

I looked sideways at Neji as he laughed and couldn't help but smile. Why he made my heart feel like this, I'd never know. He looked over at me and smiled back. Friendly. But I was feeling…different. "I never knew till yesterday." I said suddenly, softly. "You're really gentle, aren't you?"

He blinked. "I like kids, I guess." he said with a small shrug. "I've always like them. I get along well with them."

I couldn't help but think he got along well with anything…

He looked at me again. "But you're good with them too, TenTen. You'll make a good mother some day."

I blushed, and when he realized what he said he turned a little pink in the face as well, but he didn't take it back. We just stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence for a while.

The wind picked up, cold and icy, and my hair blew across my face. Neji chuckled a bit and his hand reached out to brush it from my face. His fingers lingering on my cheek made my skin tingle all over. I stared into his eyes. Lavender…

"I…I still don't love this place as much as you said I would, Neji…" I whispered.

"I know." he murmured. "You can't rush these things, right?"

"Right…"

"Besides, we have all the time in the world…"

"Or not." I said breathily.

"What?"

I took his hand away, feeling my chest lurch with guilt. "Neji…my parents called…and I'm moving back to Kiri tomorrow…" I admitted finally.

Neji was silent. "You're…serious…?" he asked softly after a bit.

"I'm serious." I whispered.

"You really hate this place that much?" he asked suddenly.

I blinked. I didn't know what to say. So I didn't say anything, and he sounded satisfied with the answer.

"…I should probably go home now." I said quietly.

"Yeah." was all he said softly.

So I stood and grabbed my bag. I hesitated. I didn't want to walk away. I wanted him to stop me. But after I just ruined things like that, in the middle of such a…_moment_, I…

I didn't deserve to be around him.

So I walked away, and he didn't call me back. Not once.

**Temari**;

I sat alone at the coffee table in the living room.

Did Shikamaru somehow suspect why I'd quit the cheerleading team? I knew that he'd find out by now. He wasn't much of a gossiper, but he had keen ears.

Did he know how much I was willing to give up for a small chance that he'd accept me?

Was he creeped out now? Probably. He probably didn't even want to see me at all. Probably didn't care about me much anymore. That's why he wasn't here.

I let my head drop onto the coffee table in front of me and closed my eyes, tears squeezing out of the corners of them. Alone in my house. With no life anymore.

I fell asleep, thinking about Shikamaru, my ex-friends, and why the hell I was doing this to myself.

**Hinata**;

_Sometimes my heart hearts so much, it feels like it's breaking in half._

_I've been through a lot, Hinata. Recently I've experienced so much, it hurts like hell. I've changed. And I've been confused._

_But through it all I've felt a sort of…reassurance. That you're there. You're more than an angel. More than a friend. I love you, and I always will._

_And I know that it isn't really convincing on paper, but it's true._

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm a burden. I'm sorry I can't be there for you more. I hate myself and love myself at the same time. I'm new, but I'm old. I'm confused, yet I feel like I know more than I ever have in my entire life._

_And it all comes down to you._

_So if you're ever feeling lost, confused, hurt, please remember I'm watching you. I'm here._

_And I can promise you this; if you ever need someone's hand to hold, I'll be in front of you._

_- __**Kiba Inuzuka**_

I re-read the note one more time. It was signed for once, with an unfamiliar name non-the-less, scrawled out hastily, sloppily. Un-romantic, and yet I felt a sudden swoop of energy as I looked over the rim of the crinkled note and saw a hand held out to me. The same hand that had dropped off the letter.

"Anonymous." I said slowly, staring up at him from where I sat on the porch steps.

He was…attractive. Cute, really. Dark slanted brown eyes, scruffy, short brown hair, and skin that reminded me of cinnamon. He smiled, flashing brilliant white teeth. "Actually it's Kiba Inuzuka. But whatever you want…Hinata."

I stared at the gruff hand in front of me. Worn and calloused. Sweet, warm…

I smiled and placed my own gently on top of it. "Thank you." he said finally. Neither of us budged an inch as he kept smiling. "Thank you for changing me, for everything…with just one look at you…"

I shook my head, gazing at him. "No, for watching me…" I whispered. I closed my eyes and smiled, tightening my grip on his hand. "Finally, someone acknowledged me…" I opened my eyes and gazed into his own inviting ones.

"_Thank you_."

**Temari**;

"Hey…Temari, wake up, would you?"

My eyes blinked open, and I stared straight ahead at the wall to the side of the living room. Tears were still on my cheeks from silently crying. Shikamaru hadn't come…

I sat up straight and closed my eyes. "What do you want, Kankerou? I'm in a crappy mood…"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not your brother."

My eyes snapped open and I stared at Shikamaru, bending over to look me in the face, seeming concerned. I blushed a little and wiped away my tears quickly. "I wasn't crying if that's what you're thinking." I said automatically. "It was…sleepy eyes."

"Sure." He wasn't convinced in the slightest. "What's wrong?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Nothing, just…" I bit my lip. "You shouldn't be here." I said softly.

He laughed and I stared at him, startled and astounded that he'd be laughing in this situation. "I'm your tutor, troublesome woman, of course I should be here!"

I glared. "Shut up, lazy ass!"

He chuckled to a stop, then sighed. "Seriously, what's up? You're too tough to cry."

I tried not to blush again and looked away. "It's none of your business."

"Ah…" He didn't pry me any further, and I was grateful. I knew…it was only because he didn't want to upset me further. For that, it was only the more reason that I didn't deserve to even look at him.

"I heard you quit the cheerleading team." he said suddenly. I said nothing, and he put his elbows on the coffee table and sighed, crossing his legs like mine. He watched me from across the table. "Sure that has nothing to do with it?" he asked softly.

I closed my eyes. "Maybe it does." Then I opened them and looked at him, determined. "But it doesn't matter anymore." I said, my voice raising. "Not when there's so much more."

Shikamaru stared at me, looking mildly surprised. I blinked, then suddenly I couldn't help it. I laughed. He raised an eyebrow.

"Now what's the matter with _you_?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"You should have seen your face, you looked like a fish!" I cried between laughs. "What kind of half-assed man leaves his mouth hanging open like a cave?!"

"First you go around complimenting me at the stupid ball then you start insulting me all over again?!" Now _he_ started laughing. "What's _really_ wrong with you?"

We kept laughing, but then I remembered what I was doing wrong and stopped suddenly. I turned away.

"No, seriously, Shikamaru. You don't need to be here anymore." I said softly. "I mean…you probably don't want to be here anyway, so what's the point? I…I bombed it all for you. That scholarship or whatever it is that you want so bad…you're not going to get it…"

"…Temari, what are you talking about…?"

"The friggin test today, okay?! Don't act like you don't know. I failed it!" I said angrily, facing him again. "Because I'm too damn stupid! I can't do anything right! Everyone thought I was perfect, everyone thought I was flawless. I was a princess, yeah, like you said! But I'm not! I'm not any of that, okay?! And now I just had to go and shout it to the world, just to prove it all to myself, just to show a damn _point_!" I fisted a hand. "I'm such an idiot…" I finished sadly. "I'm so far from perfect it's sick…"

It was silent. I could almost hear the wind blowing outside. I wondered what it would be like if I hadn't fallen in love with Shikamaru. If none of this had ever happened. He would be my tutor. We'd go on arguing, fighting…

But that was what I loved most about our moments together. Someone that could stand up for himself…that was Shikamaru. So many things about him…

"…And what's wrong with that…?" Shikamaru suddenly asked quietly. I blinked and looked up again. He stared straight into my eyes. "What's wrong with not being perfect? What's wrong with being confused about who you are? Isn't everyone, at some time?" I stared at him, shocked. "What's wrong with failing once in a while? What's wrong with being an idiot? You act like it makes you the worst person on earth when in fact sometimes you're the greatest." I blushed, and he continued. "Not many people would be willing to give up their free time to study with an emo-nerd behind the curtains. Not many people would want to throw away their entire life because they know it's the right thing to do. Not many people would even think about it."

He sighed. "_I_ wouldn't think about it…" he said quietly. "And for that, I admire you…" He looked up at me again. "Besides, you just contradicted yourself, Temari."

"Wh…What…?"

"You're trying to tell me that these test results that I picked up from Asuma after school today, which by the way is the reason I'm late…" He suddenly extracted from his bag a manila folder. "…are wrong…?"

My mouth fell open. "No…way…?"

"You passed. Perfect marks. Only one wrong question, and that was the extra credit at the end which even the makers of the test didn't complete properly themselves."

"…What…?"

"It's all right here if you want it." He set it down on the coffee table.

My mind seemed to freeze as I stared at the folder. Then everything started moving again, and I laughed brilliantly in relief. "You've gotta be kidding me! I passed it! That's…that's amazing!" Shikamaru laughed as well, and I took the folder then looked at him. I gave him a smile that made him freeze over. "Shikamaru…thanks…" I whispered. "You know what…_you're_ amazing."

He stared at me, seeming lost in my smile, then fondness overtook him. Suddenly he was closer. "You did good…princess…" he whispered, and suddenly he closed the gap.

I froze, stiffening.

Lips to mine. Eyes closed. My own eyes widened. And before I could even react, his eyes snapped open and he withdrew himself from me quickly.

"Ah…Um…I'm sorry, I…!" he stuttered. He shook his head and looked away. "I…I should go." he said and in a flash he'd taken his things and retreated out the door.

I just sat frozen in place. Then I placed my fingers to my lips.

They were curved upwards in a smile.

**TenTen**;

I sat on top of my suitcase, trying to squash everything in it.

"Fit, come on…!" I muttered, squashing it a bit more. It still didn't work. I groaned and stood, giving up, when the door bell rang. "Coming!" I called as loudly as I could. I knew it wasn't Neji, so I didn't bother pretending to hide like I'd planned.

When I got to the door I found a furious Sakura. She stormed past me into the house, pushing me aside.

"Damn it! You completely _ruined_ my decorations!" Sakura declared, gesturing around at the furniture I'd packed neatly and gotten ready to leave for the moving truck.

"Huh…?" I asked dumbly.

"I spent a lot of time wondering where to put the damn sofa! God, TenTen, you're so stupid! Why do you have to go back, huh?!"

I sighed. I knew this was coming, I was just trying to avoid it. "…Where's Ino…?" I asked glumly.

"_Sobbing_ at home because she's going to miss you so much!" Sakura cried. She glared at me. "I thought we were best friends. But when Ino told me that Sai told her that Lee told him that he was taking a day off of basketball practice and spying on you and Neji and you told Neji-"

"Can you just spit it - wait, Lee was _spying _on us?!"

"…Never mind…But I can't believe you're going back, TenTen! I hope you think good and hard about this - and promise to keep in touch by the way darling - and I hope you feel _really bad_ - email and phone are preferred of course - about how you hurt Neji! I thought you two had something going on!"

"There's no need to deny it…there was something going on…" I said sadly, just trying to convince myself.

"Well no _fuck_ there was!" Sakura screeched, and I winced at the curse word. "He was only taking you around because_ one_ he wanted to open your eyes, and _two_ he was _hitting on you_! How could you not see that?!"

"…Because no guy has ever hit on me before…" I admitted meekly, somewhat scared by Sakura screaming.

"Well too bad for you! Have a nice life! Oh, and I'll send my email later. _Good bye_!"

Sakura slammed the door behind her as she left, a little dust falling from the ceiling from the impact, and I groaned and sat down on a box.

And I did what she said. I thought good and hard about everything. So many promises we'd made for each other, so many things we had planned. So many things he'd done for me. Said to me…

"_Wow, where do you think you __are__?"_

"_Why don't I take the time to show you around?"_

"_See you tomorrow, then."_

"_I'm going to walk you around the city today."_

"_A walk around Konoha is a perfect way to get you used to the place."_

"_I guess I really know you well enough, don't I?"_

"_I'll pay for anything you want."_

"_I knew you were interested in dancing, so I thought you'd like this."_

"_TenTen, you were incredible."_

"_You like kids?"_

"_Like vanilla more than chocolate?"_

"_You'll make a good mother some day."_

I stood.

"I'm so stupid!" I shouted, furious at myself. How could I leave him behind like that?! After everything we'd been through?! What kind of idiot was I?!

I ran to the door and flung it open, then slammed it behind me even harder than Sakura had and held onto the porch balcony, swinging myself around and leaning out to look at Sakura, hanging by my hand from the railing. I saw Sakura almost to her own house.

"Sakura!" I yelled, my voice echoing down the street.

She turned around, a little surprised. "Huh?!"

"Where can I find Neji now?!" I yelled desperately.

She stopped walking and smiled brilliantly. "Oh, TenTen…!"

"Just tell me!"

"He'll be on his way home, Lee told me he and Neji were going to see a friend then going their own ways home!"

And that was all I needed. I was running past Sakura in a manner of seconds, hurrying towards where I remembered Neji's house to be.

'_Sorry, mom. I don't care how expensive that ticket is._' I thought as I slowed down to a walk and looked everywhere I could for any sign of Neji. '_I'm not taking that plane ride because it's not taking me home._'

I smiled.

'_My home is right here._'

**Mara**;  
Early and long updates FTW! LOL, and sorry about the extra cliffy. By the way, everyone, story ends next chapter. :O  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


	13. An End

_Look and see, love will find you._

_**Oh, Hell, and No**_  
_Part Thirteen_

**TenTen**;

I grit my teeth, worried, as I walked through the park.

'_He probably doesn't even care about me anymore._' I thought, angry at myself. '_After how I ditched him like that…like I didn't care in the first place…_'

I spotted the bench. _Our_ bench. The one that we'd shared so many memories with.

The one where he had taught me so many things.

I sat down on it slowly and closed my eyes, regaining my breath. One more time, just to get it out to myself, I said quietly, "I'm so stupid." My voice shook a little and I fisted my hands on my lap.

But when I opened my eyes again, they spotted him. Neji, walking through the park, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, looking up at the trees. His face serene, yet troubled. His breath fogging in front of him. I stared for a while.

'_He's done so much for me._' I thought sadly as he walked along. '_He's been the nicest person ever to me._' I bit my lip.

'_And here I am, sitting like an idiot on a bench just staring at him._'

I jumped to my feet and started running.

'_Where do I think I am?!_'

"Neji!" I yelled when I got nearer to him. He stopped and turned around, startled, and I skidded to a halt in front of him, breathing hard, and I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes determinedly.

"You win, alright?!"

"…What…?"

"You win! I'm not moving!" I said, straightening up and catching my breath again. "I'm not moving back to Kiri. I'm not leaving." I clenched a fist. "Cause I love Konoha." I declared. "I love the people, I love the places, I love my friends, your friends. Everything. And…I love this place because…if I hadn't moved here…" I smiled a bit and looked right into his eyes. "I never would have met you."

Neji looked surprised. He was silent, then he relaxed and laughed, sighing. "Alright, then. I win." he said, and he pulled me to him, holding me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and closed my eyes, my head on his chest. After a while he said, "So you love Konoha now?"

"Uh huh…"

"What do you love the most?" he murmured.

I looked up at him. "You." I said honestly.

He smiled. "Thought so." he said, leaning down to kiss me.

**Temari**;

It was the next morning. I was walking to school from my car. I had given Matsuri a ride like I'd promised her not too long ago, and she and Gaara were walking away now. Kankerou was with his new girlfriend Ayame over by the side of the school with some friends. They'd all said goodbye to me with smiles on their faces, for once.

And finally I saw who I wanted to see. Shikamaru, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, walking along and looking exhausted. I laughed a little. He never was a morning person.

I sped up and caught up to Shikamaru, walking by his side. He didn't notice me, and I frowned and whapped him in the stomach. He straightened up and coughed.

"Oof! What the fuck?!" He turned to me. "What was that for?!"

"Don't slouch!" I snapped. He groaned and rubbed his back. I glanced up at him and took his hand suddenly.

Shikamaru blinked, startled, and looked down at me. "…Not that I mind, but why…?"

I smiled. "Holding your hand. That's what your girlfriend's supposed to do."

Shikamaru's eyes widened, then he smiled back a bit. "I guess you're right." he said softly. We continued walking, and he said, "There's something else a girlfriend's supposed to do."

I laughed, and he pulled me over to him so I could kiss him. When we pulled apart, his forehead touched mine and he stared right into my eyes. "Was that correct?" I asked quietly.

"Perfect." he murmured. "A+, princess."

I laughed one more time and took his hand again. "Come on, we'll be late lazy ass."

"Ouch, not so tight, troublesome woman."

"Then hurry up!"

As we walked I gave Karin a wave, ignoring the stares and points and whispers we received. She smiled and waved back happily, holding onto Suigetsu's hand. Gaara, Matsuri, Kankerou, and Ayame were waiting for us near the doors. The air was cold, but Shikamaru's hand was warm.

'_I guess I really do have a lot left, don't I?_' I thought. '_Everything's fine just the way it is._'

I smiled.

'_Everything's perfect._'

**Hinata**;

It was lunch. I wasn't in the cafeteria but outside in the court yard. It was cold, but I could manage. And there was also another reason I was out there.

"That's wonderful, Naruto, Sasuke." I said honestly, smiling brilliantly at the two. Naruto's arm was around Sasuke's shoulders, and Sasuke's hand was up and touching his on his left shoulder. The two had just thanked me for all I'd shown them, and confessed that they had talked it out once I left. They said there had been many tears, many confessions, and a lot of hard times for them, but now…

They were in love, and it was true. And it was alright with me.

'_Who cares if they've broken a few rules?_' I thought happily as they bid me goodbye and walked away, arguing a bit between themselves. '_Who cares about any of that? When you see how happy they are…who cares…?_'

"Hinata!"

I turned in surprise and my smile only grew. Kiba was walking over, looking excited to see me. He jogged over and sat down by me. "Did you already eat?"

I nodded. "Have you?"

"Yup, I was over there with a few of my friends when I saw you. I hated seeing you alone out here, so…"

I giggled. "Thank you."

He smiled. "Oh, I got you something." He started rummaging in his pockets for something and finally pulled out a necklace. I gazed at it in awe. It was pearls, strung together. He dropped it into my hands and grinned. "It reminded me of you. That's real pearls on there. I didn't think fake ones would suit you…Nothing fake would suit you…"

I turned my face back to Kiba, who was still smiling at me. "Kiba…" I whispered. For the first time, someone was thinking about me. Someone was watching me. And that was him.

I leaned forward and kissed him lightly. He froze. This was our first kiss. We weren't even going out yet. But this was our first kiss, and I felt so honestly in love with him that I didn't think we would stay 'just acquaintances' any longer.

When we parted, he looked astounded. Then he laughed when something wet landed on his nose.

"Look, it's snowing…!" he said, surprised. I looked up and giggled as he pulled me closer to him. Together we sat in the snow, and talked about things. Just talked for what seemed like forever.

And over and over again, I could only think one thing.

'_Thank you._'

**TenTen**;

After school, Neji had met me at the usual bench. It was cold again, and so he had yet again gotten us some hot chocolate, so we could sit at the bench and talk things over.

Now his arm was around my shoulders, and I sighed a bit. "So we're not going to be doing much touring stuff anymore, are we?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. You said that you knew this place by heart already, right?"

"Yeah, earlier."

"You love it too. I think the deal's off."

"But I'm not leaving."

"No, you're not."

I laughed. "You probably wouldn't let me if I tried."

"Nope."

I grinned and lay my head on his shoulder. "So is this what we'll do every day? Just wait for Sakura and Lee, Ino and Sai?"

"If that's okay with you."

"And some days we can go for a walk or something? Or take Akamaru for a walk again, or go to the museum. Or I can show you some dancing. Babysit Hanabi and Megumi…?"

"Anything you like." he said softly, kissing the side of my head.

I smiled. "I'm gonna like it here, then."

"Of course you will." He smirked. "And there's always more."

"Huh?"

"There's rumored to be underground tunnels in Konoha…"

I turned to look at him and gave him a look.

He laughed and kissed me. And in the distance, I could somehow feel two other stories ending as I said three words.

"Oh hell no."

_**The**  
End_

_When nothing else seems left, love is there.__ When no one else seems to care, the one that loves you does. And when you seem lost, love is your home._

**Mara**;  
Bleh. It didn't end on the note I wanted it to end on, but oh well. It was still fun! Thank you to all reviewers. For those that haven't, please check out my other stories as well! :D On another note, ELECTION DAY! **OBAMAOBAMAOBAMA! **XD  
thanks for reading!  
_xmarachanx_


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